At present, we have 8.8 million tonne capacity of steel

Sharad Rastogi, Director, SSAB India SSAB is a highly specialised, global steel company. Its steels help make end products lighter and increase their strength and lifespan. Sharad Rastogi, Director, SSAB India, shares more on the company's offering and merger with Ruukki in conversation with SHRIYAL SETHUMADHAVAN. Tell us about the company's merger with Ruukki. Both companies have similar products and SSAB's products could be enhanced by merging with Ruukki. On the other hand, Ruukki also had a smaller product basket and were able to increase the same in varieties of wear-resistant steel, high-strength steel, Toolox steel, and others, by merging with SSAB. So, now with both companies coming together, we have a larger offering for our customers. What type of construction equipment are the company's products supplied to? The products we make can be divided into two categories: Wear-resistant steel and high-strength steel. They are used by all the lifting, handling, and transportation segments within the construction and mining sectors. What is the USP of your products? The steel we offer can give a life three times greater compared to standard steel for mining, digging operations and transportation. So, if one were to have a mobile crane, you can increase Payload with usage of high strength steels. There is a potential to reduce the thickness of steel to make the crane 20-40 per cent lighter with reduction in the weight of steel. With production plants in Sweden, Finland and the US, do you have any plans for one in India? At the moment, we are focussed to utilise full capacity that we have existing in these three countries. At present, we have 8.8 million tonne capacity.