Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), a unit of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), which had set new benchmarks in production in 2010-11, has commenced the current fiscal on a positive note.
Hot metal production for April this year was 184,663 tonnes while the steel plant's crude steel and saleable steel output stood at 176,346 tonnes and 165,011 tonnes.
The steel unit recorded a capacity utilization of 112.3 per cent, 112.9 per cent and 120.1 per cent in hot metal, crude steel and saleable steel respectively. RSP's saleable steel production was the best for any month of April since its inception, registering a growth of four per cent over April 2010.
Similarly, the steel plant's sinter output reached 282,426 tonnes, meaning a capacity utilization of 111.9 per cent.
The finishing units of RSP also recorded a noteworthy performance in April.
Production of hot rolled coils and hot rolled plates stood at 135,279 tonnes and 28,473 tonnes. This represented a capacity utilization of four per cent and 28 per cent over April 2010.
The steel plant also clocked a growth of 54 per cent in production of Electric Resistance Weld pipes (5484 tonnes), 17 per cent spiral weld pipes (2385 tonnes) and 10 per cent in Cold Rolled Non-Oriented Steel (6804 tonnes) compared to April 2010.
Continuing its thrust on improving profitability, RSP adopted a strategy of increasing production volumes through maximization of capacity utilization with a view to control cost of production.
