Leveraging the recast investment climate in Punjab, leading Japanese steel manufacturer Aichi Steel has collaborated with Ludhiana based Vardhman Special Steels giving further impetus to the export, employment and steel manufacturing potential in the state.The Aichi Steel-an affiliate of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation would introduce cutting edge technology in the state through Vardhman besides improving quality of its products, reducing operational cost and bring process efficiencies. This collaboration will add another chapter of confidence and trust in the Punjab (India) & Japan relations.Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of Invest Punjab said that earlier to this development, deliberations between Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Ambassador of Japan to India Kenji Hiramatsu were taken place thrice at New Delhi and Chandigarh regarding industrial and investment scenario in Punjab. He said that this partnership was aimed at achieving sustainable growth with ‘make in Punjab’ vision of the Chief Minister.Pertinently, Vice-Chairman & MD Vardhman Special Steels Sachit Jain accompanied by Japan’s Ambassador in India Kenji Hiramatsu had apprised the Chief Minister about the agreement during pre-summit interaction with foreign missions by Captain Amarinder Singh in New Delhi last week. The Chief Minister had assured fulsome support and cooperation from State Government to further boost the steel and automotive sectors.
The Spokesperson said that this partnership will also set a significant precedence for other players in the region to augment their product portfolio with similar technological collaboration with international companies. It will also give a fillip to FDI in India and will directly be in line with National Steel Policy of achieving 300MT of crude steel capacity by 2030, said Spokesperson.Briefing about the partnership, Vice-Chairamn & MD Vardhman Special Steels Sachit Jain said that “one of the key objectives of this partnership is to develop special steel grades for automotive companies in India so as to help fill the gap of providing substitution of steel that is currently being imported. We plan to later export this special grade of steel to South Asia and Europe as well.”The President Aichi Company Takahiro Fujioka said that “This partnership will help Aichi Steel strengthen the foundation of its special steel business by improving quality and cost competitiveness on a global basis.”The spokesperson said that Vardhman Special Steels caters to diverse requirements of hot rolled bars for Engineering, Automotive, Tractor, Bearing and Allied Industries. Vardhman is also one of the most advanced manufacturing facility in Punjab, which is located in Ludhiana with an annual production capacity of 1,80,000(FY 2018) tones/year with sales figures for 2018 is Rs. 11.8 billion. The company, having more than 40 years in steel manufacturing, has clientele includes renowned names such as Toyota, Hero Moto Corp, Caterpillar, Hino Motors, Bosch etc. Pertinently, the Aichi will be taking over approximately 11.4 percent stake in Vardhman Special Steels at a cost of Rs. 50 crore.