With enhancing capacity of rolling mills, our target is to achieve 25% of the market share in 2022-2023.

Noor Muhammed Noorsha Kalliyath, Managing Director, Kalliyath Group

we have recognized the potential of disruptive technology in our operations and have incorporated it into our business processes.Right from being the first TMT bar manufacturer in the state of Kerala, to the first to bring in automation and several other innovations that have set new benchmarks for the industry, Kalliyath has always been a pioneer in adapting to technological advancements, states Noor Muhammed Noorsha Kalliyath, Managing Director, Kalliyath Group. Excerpts from the interview…

How do you assess the domestic demand for rebar / TMT for construction in the coming years and what will be the demand drivers?

Currently in Kerala, there is an average monthly demand of nearly 1.1 lakh tonnes. This demand is catered by local players, other state TMT producers and also by national players. Till 2015, there had been a consistent increase in demand from 5 % to 10%.After that the demand has been slightly decreased.  The expected rise in consumption will be due to increased infrastructure construction.

What has been the impact of the pandemic on the rebar industry, and what are the continuing challenges the industry is facing?

The Covid-19 - induced lockdown has come as a big blow to the steel industry. The sales of the first 7 months were disrupted. But from November onwards there has been a consistent demand. Fortunately for Kalliyath TMT, November and December had recorded the highest sales that we have achieved till date. We are anticipating this growing trend in the coming months also.

Interesting thing is there have not been any major projects happening in Kerala for past one year. Cochin and Kannur International Airport projects have been completed, Kochi metro is almost completed, Kochi Refinery work is over and so are major flyovers and bridges across Kerala. Despite these conditions, there is an increase in steel demand in Kerala, Which is a good sign.

What is the overall production of rebar / TMT bars, and will the existing capacity be able to meet the expected demand for rebar for construction? 

40 % of the demand is catered by local players and the rest is by manufacturers from neighbouring states and national players. We have increased our capacity by 50% and during the pandemic period we have improved our quality by adapting to latest technological advancements and improved machineries. We have upgraded our production facilities and have adopted measures which now have enabled todrastically reduce pollution emitted.

What is your current production of rebar / TMT bars, and what are your plans to increase the production to meet the demand?

We have an installed capacity of 2.5 lakh mt per year. We are working towards our further expansion projects which will be completed by 2022-2023.Adding hot charging facilities along with increasing the capacity of rolling mills our target is to achieve 25% of the market share in 2022-2023.

What are the major challenges the rebar industry is facing in Kerala?

Major challenges we face in Kerala is that the State Government does not recommend to use local player products for government projects with comparison of national players.

Could you brief us on the technology used to produce the quenched and tempered bars? 

With the help of computerized process, qualified engineers of Kalliyath and state of the art facilities, TMT bars at Kalliyath are produced with superior quality and uniformity in grades dimensions and tolerance. Processes are controlled by monitoring devices, in an all mechanized technical operational environment. This enables the production of rebars with perfect shape, uniform thickness and equal standard length. At Kalliyath, each TMT steel bar is made from the PLC controlled continuous linear rolling mill in adherence with the BIS quality standards and norms to ensure quality consistency. The rolling mill operating in tandem with the continuous casting machine cools the billet temperature to help reduce the material and within 40 seconds, these billets are made into TMT bars ensuring excellent dimensional tolerance and surface finish.

The hot rolled rebar emerging from the finishing stand mill are then rapidly cooled by quenching process. The quenching process with patented Hydromax technology facilitates accurate controlled cooling. A special water spray system converts the surface layer of the bar to a hardened 'martensitic' structure while the core remains 'austenitic'.

The mechanism of automated cooling bed ensures that the bars are uniformly positioned over the toothed racks. The advanced technology helps prevent the damages caused by the collision of TMT bars and thereby gives a unique uniform strength and shape.

Brief us how you ensure the quality of raw material, especially scrap / billets or ingots?

Selection of raw materials is the most important factor that determines the quality of a TMT bar. At Kalliyath, steel is produced using high-quality raw materials. These are supplied by world-class suppliers of billets from virgin iron billets, like Vizag, SAIL, etc. Raw materials for making TMT are also manufactured by Kalliyath to maintain consistency in quality.

How do you look at the importance of a comprehensive financial policy to fund core sector like steel to improve access to capital for setting up large production capacities?

Financial institutions were little worried to extend support to steel manufacturers because of the performance in the last five years. But currently the atmosphere has changed and the performance of the steel industry has improved positively, and we foresee the conditions to even get better.

We hope this changing scenario will make financial institutions to support the steel industry by giving a leniency at interest rates and financial assistance.

What regulatory and policy reforms the government needs to bring in to ensure augmentation of capacity build up -availability of raw material, especially availability of localized scrap / up gradation of technologies etc? 

In the national level, it has been presented to the Government of India to impose additional duty for export of raw materials like iron ore, coal etc from India. If that is implemented, automatically steel prices will be under control. Steel prices in Indian market are going up in along with rise in prices of raw materials like iron ore, coal and scrap/ sponge iron, increased operational and logistic cost and most of all due to demand push. By export of such raw materials apart from the revenue loss to the government, one key drawback is that no jobs are generated here. If these natural resources are made accessible to the local industry apart from the job generation alot of value addition like GST and taxes will be generated for the government. We have highlighted this matter to the government.

Has the advent of digital and disruptive technologies had any impact on the production process of TMT bars?

We have recognized the potential of disruptive technology in our operations and have incorporated it into our business processes. Right from being the first TMT bar manufacturer in the state, to the first to bring in automation and several other innovations that set new benchmarks for the industry, Kalliyath has always been a pioneer in adapting to technological advancements.

Tell us about the range of rebar manufactured by your company and also tell us the unique features?

Kalliyath TMT steel bars are available from 6mm to 32mm sizes. With four well-equipped manufacturing units spread across 12 acres, Kalliyath is the only brand in Kerala that produces 6mm original TMT steel bars and also the only brand in India to produce Fe 500 graded 6mm bars with ISI certification. At Kalliyath, each TMT steel bar is made from the PLC controlled continuous linear rolling mill in adherence with the BIS quality standards and norms to ensure quality consistency.

From ever-increasing infrastructure requirements to landmark constructions to individual homes, there is an exponential demand for reinforced bars in every segment of the industry. The reason why the infrastructure market is now replete with manufacturers, mostly small scale, and TMT steel bars made without following the necessary BIS instructions. To solve this mounting problem, Kalliyath has always been instrumental in making people understand what a real TMT steel bar is.

What is your outlook on the demand -supply for the 2021 and impact of price variation on cost of production? 

The best way for competing the market is by reducing the cost of production and other overhead expenditures. Lockdown period was basically a homework time for us. During the lockdown period none of our employees had to be terminated. We had provided all facilities for the well being of our employees and had started preparing ourselves how to tackle issues post lockdown. We now follow a strict Covid protocol in every process. It was a time when we devised plans and successfully implemented them to improve our quality standards, production facilities and after sales services etc.

Kalliyath TMT aspires to occupy a preeminent position in the steel industry by achieving manufacturing excellence and having a consistently satisfied customer base.

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