India's Tata Steel Limited has commissioned a number of advanced manufacturing lines at its Kalinganagar steel mill in the eastern state of Odisha, a company statement said on Monday, October 19.
The new facilities include two continuous galvanising lines (CGLs) with a combined capacity of one million mt per year, a 0.9 million mt continuous annealing line (CAL), Phase-I of a 7 million mt slurry pipeline project and an air separation unit set up by Linde India Limited.
The company said the galvanising lines will enable Tata Steel to manufacture advanced automotive steel, including coated advanced high-strength steels (AHSS), catering to the requirements of automobile and appliance manufacturers. Equipped with advanced coating technologies, the lines are designed to improve product quality, consistency and reliability.
The CAL is one of the top three benchmark automotive lines globally, and will strengthen the company's capability to supply high quality steel grades for automotive applications, the company said. The investment comes amid rising demand for specialised steel products that offer improved strength, safety and performance, the company said.
It said that the 7 million mt per year slurry pipeline will transport iron ore fines from Tata Steel's Kalamang mines to its Kalinganagar plant. The underground pipeline is expected to improve raw material supply reliability, reduce dependence on road and rail transportation, ease congestion and lower emissions associated with transportation.
Linde India's air separation unit will produce 3,600 mt of oxygen, 1,940 mt of nitrogen and 120 mt of argon per day, through cryogenic distillation. The unit will support the steel plant's continuous operations, with oxygen also available for medical use during emergencies, Tata Steel said.
