OREANDA-NEWS. November 14, 2012. Tata Steel unveiled "Tata Astrum", a new brand of its Hot Rolled products range, at an event held here today. This is the first time that the Company has made a foray into branding of HR products in the SME segment.

The initiative is aimed at de-commoditising steel and offering the best-in-quality product to customers. Tata Astrum follows the success in the market of other Tata Steel brands, such as Tata Tiscon (rebars), Tata Shaktee (roofing sheets), Tata Steelium (cold rolled sheets), Tata Galvano (galvanized sheets), Tata Structura (hollow sections), Tata Bearings (bearings), Tata Agrico (agricultural implements), etc.

Tata Astrum HR coils and Sheets will be produced from two of Tata Steel’s mills at Jamshedpur and will be available in the 1.6 mm to 16 mm thickness range. Customers will be served through Tata Steel’s authorised distributors. A total of 42 such distributors have been appointed across the country. Each distributor will have a tie-up with service centres that will be certified by Tata Steel for quality products. The material will be supplied to customers in processed form out of the service centres.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. T. V. Narendran, Vice President, Safety and Flat Products, Tata Steel, said: "Tata Steel is constantly endeavouring to enhance customer satisfaction. With the launch of Tata Astrum, Tata Steel is offering convenience to its customers through consistent availability of ready-to-use quality HR products".

The Astrum product range will find application in the Automotive, Earth Moving Equipment, Railways, Fabrication, Construction and Industrial Machinery segments. The size of the domestic market for hot rolled products in the SME segment is pegged at 6 mtpa. Tata Astrum hopes to garner a market share of 17-18 per cent in this segment in FY 14. This is expected to generate revenue of approximately Rs 4,000 crore for the Company.

Additionally, the brand brings with it unique features such as Process Improvement Support and Knowledge Sharing Sessions for its customers. Besides, Source Authenticity of the material from Tata Steel is assured.