TATA Wiron

Tata Steels Wire Division was established in the year 1963 as Special Steels Limited (SSL), a pioneer steel wire producing company in India. Since its inception in 1963 as Special Steels, to the establishment of the Company as a subsidiary of Tata Steel, to the formation of the Global Wires Business - the journey of Tata Steel Wire Division has been replete with innovations, recognitions and break-through achievements. Tata Steel Wires Business is a major player in the wire industry servicing the discerning needs of its customers across global markets. It is the leading producer of steel wires, with a 30% market share of the organized wire market in India. It manufactures a wide range of wires catering to the needs of various industry segments such as automobile, infrastructure, power and general engineering. 1963-1966 (2 YEARS): The Company produced Hardened & Tempered Umbrella Ribs (HTUR) Wire which had a good market in India and the demand was met by imports at that time. Due to poor Indian economic conditions there were restrictions on imports and hence umbrella manufacturers in India were getting starved for want of umbrella ribs to manufacture umbrellas. The production was low and entire production of HTUR wire produced by SSL was consumed by M/s Champion Engg, the leader in UR manufacturing in India that time. So there was no need to search for market during this period. 1967-1975 (9 YEARS): The demand for UR wire was seasonal (Just before monsoon), the company decided to add on other wires to its production. The company shifted its manufacturing operations from Goregaon to Borivali. Low technology wires such as spring steel wires, Galvanized Iron (GI) wire were added. Manufacturing of Bicycles was on boom in India which required lot of products such as cycle spokes, Chain bushes, Chain Rivets, Saddle springs, Hub Spindles etc. made out of wire. Ready market was available for these wires so these were also added to product line. However this era was a License Raj era and hence steel was controlled by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and was in tremendous

short supply. There was a big gap between wire production in India and industry demand. So marketing was actually rationing of production. 1975-1980 (5 YEARS): The competition started increasing in low technology wires from unorganized sector which had lower overheads and hence lower manufacturing cost. Though SSL continued to survive in this competition on its superior quality of products by catering to needs of larger industries which were looking for quality in their RM, there was a crunch on sale and profitability. SSL entered in to production of High Technology wires such as Motor Tyre Bead (MTB) Wire and Stranded Pre-stressed Concrete wire. Production of these wires required huge capital investment and technological support which was not possible for unorganized sector. Chances of competition for these wires were low. Heavy Infrastructure development such as construction of bridges, dams, power plants in India had started during this period so there was ready market available for Stranded PC wire. MTB was totally imported at that time by Automobile Tyre Manufacturers. Production of other wires also continued and SSL posed itself as the largest variety manufacturer of steel wires in India. 1980-1984(4 YEARS): The License Raj continued to restrict steel supply which was controlled by SAIL. While the market for wires was available in India, Raw Material supply for their manufacturing was in short supply. So SSL started backward integration by venturing in to manufacturing of Steel and rolling it to wire rods which was RM for producing wires by erecting a Mini Steel Plant and Ultra-Modern Wire Rod rolling mill at Tarapur near Mumbai. This improved delivery commitment schedules to customers greatly. SSL now could capture new customers/ markets posing them as On Time Delivery & Quality Wire supplier. However the wide range product manufacturing continued though all the low technology products were non profitable due to competition from unorganized sector that could produce at much lower cost sacrificing quality. 1984-2003(19 YEARS): SSL became subsidiary of Tata Steel in 1984 and became Tata SSL (TSSL). The decision was taken to drop low technology products from product line was taken and the focus was on manufacturing and marketing of high technology wires. The economic reforms also started in this period and License Raj ended. TSSL entered into export market, exporting MTB to developed countries like USA, Australia, New Zealand apart from South African countries and Middle East. TSSL upgraded its Stranded PC to Low Relaxation Stranded PC which was a very high technology product and became only manufacturer of LRPC in India.

2004-2012 (8 YEARS): GI Wire was manufactured and marketed as commercial wire by all in India. In 2004 GI wire was branded as commodity (Tata Wiron) by Tata Steel. The wire was marketed separately based on its end use for poultry operations, Vineyard use (Grape farming), Wire Mesh (Jali) making & Redrawing in to finer sizes. Each type was differentiated by different packing. This Branding, differentiation on end use and quality produced through ultra tech manufacturing line created tremendous impact on market to boost sales. However unscrupulous sellers started selling spurious GI wire under Spurious Tata Wire packing in short time. To tackle this problem laser printing Tata Wire on GI Wire at an interval of one meter was stared. This printing equipment on running line requires huge

investment and hence is unaffordable to small time manufacturers. Tata Brand Image increased the market share of Wire Division in wire market. It became 5th largest wire drawing manufacturer in world. To produce increased volume of products and also to take care of logistic cost Tata Steel went for acquisition of other companies in India, China, Thailand, and Singapore & Srilanka along with India. Capacities were also hired by out sourcing from other Indian companies. PRODUCTS OF TATA WIRON CABLE ARMOUR Cable armouring wires are used in armouring of cables, which find application in the power segment. Tata Steel Limited (Wire Division) manufacturers two different types of cable amour wires with round and flat cross sections. The Company is also the leading supplier of Flat and Round Cable Amour wires in India. These wires are manufactured in modern galvanized furnace and flattening machines equipped with latest technology for superior quality

SPRING WIRES Tata Wiron Spring Wires find use as tension and compression springs in two wheelers, four wheelers and general engineering industry for applications ranging from Shock Absorbers to Clutch Brake Springs, to Mattress Spring etc. PC WIRES Pre-stressed concrete wires find applications in Electric Pole reinforcement, as reinforcement in prestressed Concrete and in Pipes Railway Sleepers. LRPC Low Relaxation PC Stranded wires are used in Pre-stressed concrete girders for road, river & railway bridges and flyovers, pre-stressed atomic reactor domes, slabs, silos, hangars, aqueducts, high rise buildings, viaducts & railway sleepers.