OREANDA-NEWS. The Essar Steel Pune Facility (ESPF), a manufacturing unit that is integral to Essar Steel India’s value-added steel portfolio, today announced that it has recorded a turnaround performance in the financial year ended March 2016. ESPF’s sales volume rose 71% to cross 462,000 tonnes, as compared to 270,000 tonnes in the previous fiscal. Total revenue was at Rs 2,070 crore, a growth of 45% when compared to a revenue of Rs 1,425 crore in the previous year.

ESPF’s capacity utilisation has risen to 77% in FY 2015-16 from just 45% in FY 2014-15. This is in line with the rising capacity utilisation in Essar Steel India’s overall operations— the company had a capacity utilisation of 70% in the last quarter of FY 2015-16. In fact, ESPF’s capacity utilisation in the ongoing quarter of the current fiscal has already shot up to well over 98%. The current year’s production target is set to cross 625,000 tonnes, translating into a 35% volume growth compared to the FY 2015-16 number.

ESPF’s remarkable turnaround has been triggered primarily by process innovations, operational excellence, low rework, expansion into new international markets, and a renewed focus on the domestic market and the value-added product range. Increased productivity as a result of record capacity utilisation across all lines led to higher yields and eventually fast order execution and on-time supply. This led to repeat orders and deliveries. ESPF’s position on the customer satisfaction index and its employee engagement ratings are among the highest in the country. Consequently, in spite of continued emphasis on newer products and niche applications like Medium Carbon / High Carbon Cold Rolled Steel components, the unit has emerged as an industry leader in terms of the On-Time Delivery Index.

Mr Dilip Oommen, CEO & MD, Essar Steel India said, “This is a remarkable achievement considering the challenges that the steel industry faced last year, including issues like the dumping of steel, subdued demand and volatile market conditions. This is also ESPF’s best ever performance since Essar took over the unit in 2009.”

Mr RV Sridhar, CEO-ESPF, said: “Our performance is the result of our employees’ single-minded focus on achieving excellence in all areas of operations. We have set new industry benchmarks in production, marketing and cost efficiencies.”

ESPF has made a renewed thrust on marketing activities to overcome the odds it faced in a sluggish market. Not only did it fortify its stronghold in its home market of Western India, it reached out to the last mile user, sometimes in the remotest parts of the country, by leveraging its vast Hypermart network across the country. The year was marked by zero quality complaints and ESPF’s environment-conscious drive to replace asbestos roofing with PPGI (Pre-Painted Galvanised Iron) products.

In Exports, the emphasis was on Value Added Products and making inroads into geographies like Africa, NAFTA & EU. During FY 2015-16, ESPF added over 125 customers. It also doubled its customer base in the Middle East and some other regions. ESPF exports its products to more than 110 countries across the world. A range of innovative product offerings, like Camouflage Steel, Wood Finish, Abrasion Resistant Systems and Wrinkle Finish products, are manufactured at the Pune facility, and cater to different customer segments and markets. Essar Steel products conform to standards like ASTM, BIS and SA.