Essar Steel crude steel production up by 60% in April

Essar Steel, the second largest flat steel producer in the private sector in India, today announced that it has recorded over 60% growth in crude steel output during the month of April 2011 compared to same month a year ago.
    
Essar Steel, operating from India's largest, single location production facility at Hazira in Gujarat said its crude steel production increased by 60.7% at 3.97 lakh tonnes in April 2011 as compared to 2.47 lakh tonnes in April 2010. The production of flat rolled products also increased to 41.6% at 3.37 lakh tonnes in April 2011 as compared to 2.38 lakh tonnes in April 2010, a company statement said here.
    
Essar Steel having 20 of total flat steel production capacity in the country, is close to completing its expansion of steel making capacity to 10 MTPA. As part of this expansion, Essar Steel has already commissioned two iron making units - a blast furnace with a capacity of 1.73 million tonnes and a DRI unit of 1.74 million tonnes, a conarc furnace of 2.5 million tonnes, a continuous caster of 1.45 million tonnes and a CSP mill of 3.5 MTPA, the release said.
    
On completion of the expansion, Essar Steel will be the largest flat steel producer in a single location in the country. Further, the company also recently commissioned India's first 5-m wide plate mill with a capacity of 1.5MTPA, it said.
    
Essar Steel is a global producer of steel with a production capacity of 14 MTPA.