OREANDA-NEWS. October 25, 2012. Since changing its name from Corus in 2010, Tata Steel has transformed the organisation of its sales and marketing activities to strengthen its long-term commitment to the European steel market. The company understands that when it comes to steel, there is a growing need in Germany and the rest of Europe for increased product performance and value in use. This is particularly recognised in the most demanding industries, like automotive, mechanical engineering and construction.

By combining its advanced steel products with a strongly customer-oriented business model and by developing new products in partnership with its customers, the company aims to raise the share of differentiated products sales within its portfolio by over 50 percent between now and 2016.

At EuroBLECH, the world’s largest exhibition for the sheet metal industry, which begins today, Tata Steel will be giving clear examples of how it delivers increased product performance and value in use. Tata Steel will showcase ultra-high strength and other advanced steels for light-weighting steel car components that can reduce end-product weight by up to 35 percent and cut life cycle emissions by nearly 70 percent. The company will also be launching two new pre-finished steels that can save up to 12 percent of production costs compared to post-painted products.

To fully support the needs of its customers, Tata Steel has aligned its sales and marketing teams with targeted steel end-use markets, creating 11 market sector teams. The company is the only one in Europe to have organised itself in this customer-driven way, with both production and supply chain activities organised so as to respond to the market sectors’ requirements. The market sector teams offer individual customers a single dedicated account team to ensure they have optimum access to the company’s extensive product range and technical, logistical and R&D resources.

To highlight this new approach and its resulting advantages to customers, Tata Steel believes that the motto ‘Together we make the difference’ encapsulates the company’s commitment to building mutually advantageous partnerships that create real benefits, such as enhancing customers’ product performance, processing efficiency, lightweighting ability or sustainability performance.

Tata Steel delivers on this commitment through its strong global footprint, with operations in more than 26 countries. In Europe, Tata Steel is the second largest steel manufacturer, with fully integrated steelmaking sites in the UK and the Netherlands and an extensive network of distribution and service centres.

Henrik Adam, chief commercial officer, Tata Steel in Europe, said: “Europe is currently facing economic uncertainty. Markets like automotive, mechanical engineering and construction are heavily affected by the stagnating economy. To remain competitive, these industries are seeking to deliver superior customer value whilst reducing costs at the same time. Customers expect support in their innovation efforts, improved product performance and value in use.

“Tata Steel’s wide product range, integrated steelmaking facilities and extensive distribution and processing networks, in combination with a customer-focused approach, create opportunities for growth across all our market sectors. By focusing in particular on the most demanding industries, we are aiming to increase the sales of differentiated products within our portfolio by over 50 percent by 2016.”

In Europe, Tata Steel manufactures and sells a comprehensive range of high-quality steel products, including flat and long products, as well as construction products, such as components and systems developed specifically for the building envelope market. The company operates a large number of processing centres that offer a wide variety of services, such as cutting, slitting, blanking, decoiling, laser-welding and powder-coating. This network offers a materials supply service that is tailored to specification: products cut and finished to exact size, length and shape as required. Backed by world-class research facilities, these combined resources enable Tata Steel to offer differentiated products and services that make the difference.