We'll continue to invest majorly across the business: ArcelorMittal CEO

Aditya Mittal unveils a four-fold vision for joint venture with Nippon Steel in India, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, of which he is also the chairman

Two years after acquiring Essar Steel, Aditya Mittal, Chief Executive Officer of ArcelorMittal, unveiled a four-fold vision for its joint venture with Nippon Steel in India – ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) – in a communication to employees to mark the occasion.

In his letter to employees, Mittal, who is chairman of the joint venture, said, “First, we want to be at the forefront of supporting the rapid and sustained rise in steel consumption in India over the coming decade and will continue to invest significantly across the business to achieve this.”

Expanding Hazira’s steelmaking capacity to 15 million tonnes (mt) per annum remains a critical aspect of the growth plan, he said, and will benefit AM/NS India as well as India – reducing the need for imports of high-value steels in line with the government’s objective of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

AM/NS India had a crude steel production of 7.5 million tonnes (mt) at time of acquisition in December 2019. Currently, debottlenecking to achieve 8.6 mt capacity is underway and the next milestone is to take capacity to 15 mt.

But even as AM/NS India expands capacity, efforts are being made to ensure cost competitiveness. Mittal said, “We must consistently strive for stable and cost-effective steel making operations.”

Real progress has already been made here, he pointed out, with the commencement of mining operations in Odisha, the commissioning of a second pellet plant at Paradeep, and strong progress being made with the debottlenecking project at Hazira.

The third pillar in the vision is to build a portfolio of value-added products and exploit innovation and technology to achieve stronger financial returns.

“The advanced technology we’re currently deploying at Hazira will play an important role here, ensuring manufacture of higher-grade auto and plate mill products, among others,” Mittal mentioned in the letter to employees.

And finally, Mittal said that the aim must to be a leader in sustainable development. “This involves a broad range of issues but three come to the fore,” he said.

The first being safety, the second, diversity and inclusion and finally, Mittal pointed out that at the “heart of sustainable development for every steel company is climate change”.

Last year, ArcelorMittal announced a group-wide commitment to being carbon neutral by 2050 and this year it has set out a 25 per cent emissions intensity target across the group by 2030.

“AM/NS India is certainly well placed to draw from its parents’ learnings and support the global and national vision for an energy transition to cleaner, greener steel, but I also encourage you to think about climate change in your work and business planning,” Mittal mentioned in the letter.

“Reaching net zero will involve a huge, collective effort; we all have a role to play and a contribution to make,” he added.

AM/NS India started its journey on December 16, 2019, after ArcelorMittal completed the acquisition of Essar Steel in a Rs 42,000 crore deal under India’s insolvency law and established a 60:40 joint venture with Nippon Steel Corporation.

Mittal said when AM/NS India was created in 2019, the ambition was to be India’s best and safest steel maker.

“The significant, unforeseen disruptions of the past 20 months have not dented that ambition, nor materially hindered our progress: our business is very strong, our focus on health and safety remains our first priority,” he said.

FOUR-FOLD VISION

• Support rise in India’s steel consumption in India over the coming decade by investing significantly across the business

• Strive for stable and cost-effective steel making operations

• Build a portfolio of value-added products for stronger financial returns

• Aim to be a leader in sustainable development