- Riten Choudhury, Managing Director, Tata BlueScope SteelTata BlueScope Steel is committed to serve customers with best-in-class colour coated steel products consistently by leveraging superior technology with over 100 years of global research and development. Riten Choudhury, Managing Director, Tata BlueScope Steel, shares more...How does the R&D team work to understand the market’s preferences?Today, customers are well informed and their needs are diverse. While strength, durability and long life are top priorities, superior aesthetics with sustainability have gained immense importance.Longevity and durability: COLORBOND® steel and ZINCALUME® steel are perfect examples of well-researched products from Tata BlueScope Steel. We have a dedicated team of scientists working in NATA authorised R&D centres based out of Australia, constantly working on developing new products and enhancing the existing ones. More so, these products are well researched for their longevity and corrosion-resistance on actual test sites under adverse environments across the globe (Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia and India) for over five decades. The research has confirmed the lifespan of COLORBOND® steel and ZINCALUME® steel is upto four times that of conventional pre-painted galvanised steel under similar environmental conditions.Sustainability: Resilient structures enabled by COLORBOND® steel are lead-free, RoHS-compliant and are suitable for water harvesting. COLORBOND® steel is powered by THERMATECH™ technology that enhances roof’s thermal performance, cooling down inside temperatures, and ensuring lesser energy consumption. Our products – made from 100 per cent recyclable steel – ensure minimal environmental waste and can be reused and relocated. Flexibility and Superior Aesthetics: LYSAGHT® profiles made from high strength COLORBOND® steel promise great flexibility and a perfect cladding solution for architects seeking innovative building product with complete design freedom. LYSAGHT® profiles undergo rigorous tests and proven processes. Our design team is constantly working  on new age software, developing different profiles by optimising designs, duly tested by reputed institutes like IIT-Chennai, before they are offered to customers. While LYSAGHT® caters to the B2B segment consisting of warehousing, infrastructure, manufacturing and commercial; our retail roofing brand DURASHINE® too is an outcome of a well-studied customer base. In fact, DURASHINE® has been recognised as the most trusted brand for the third time this year by IBC 2019 Consumer Research Report. How competitive are your offerings on the pricing front?We are committed to sustainability, which is reflected in the choice of raw materials used in our products as well as equipment and practices deployed in both, manufacturing and project execution operations. We offer value-added services, such as design, detailing, construction and maintenance, which provide end-to-end solutions to our customers. There is a paradigm shift in consumers’ demand, leading to repeat orders and better preference for our solutions over competition. What are your growth prospects for this fiscal?We offer premium Al-Zn coated products (both bare and painted) for the coated steel industry, where our market share is more than 23 per cent. India’s GDP has slowed down over the last five years and has reached an all-time low. And, we are definitely not insulated from this impact. Also, the government has taken a slew of measures like corporate tax reforms, liquidity infusion through PSB financing, reversal of FPI tax proposal to revive the economy. Along with announcements of spend in infrastructure sector, which is expected to boost demand despite current slowdown. We are hopeful to maintain the past growth momentum this year too. (Communication by the management of the company)