Tata Metaliks inks JV agreement with Kubota Corporation, Japan

TATA Metaliks Limited (TML), India’s largest producer of foundry grade pig-iron, in its pursuit to become a multi-product company has forayed into the Ductile Iron Pipes manufacturing and has entered into a Joint Venture (JV) in this respect, with Japanese JV partners.

On July 20, 2007, the Company, in presence of eminent dignitaries like Mr. B Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel; Dr. T Mukherjee, Dy. MD – Tata Steel and Chairman, Tata Metaliks and Mr. Daisuke Hatakake, President, Kubota Corporation, executed the Joint Venture Agreement for manufacturing Ductile Iron (DI) pipes in India.

The JV partner, viz. M/s Kubota Corporation of Japan, is the world leader in DI pipe manufacturing. The other partner in this JV would be M/s Metal One Corporation, Tokyo. Although, M/s Metal One Corporation (MO), Tokyo, does not have any direct association with M/s Kubota Corporation, they export some of Kubota’s products. Besides equity participation, Kubota Corporation of Japan would also bring in its state-of–art technology in DI pipe manufacturing and provide the best operational practices of Japanese standards. The world-class products to be rolled out of the proposed JV plant would contribute greatly to the infrastructural development of the nation.

The project cost for the JV has been estimated at Rs.150 Crores. It will have a debt-equity ratio of 1:1. The JV Company, “Tata Metaliks Kubota Pipes Limited”, will be incorporated in Kolkata, as a public limited company. TML, India would have a 51% equity stake in the proposed JVC, the other 49% being contributed by M/s Kubota Corporation, Tokyo (44%) and Ms Metal One Corporation, Tokyo (5%).

The plant will be located at Kharagpur. The proposed manufacturing facility would use liquid pig iron from TATA Metaliks’ existing Mini Blast Furnaces (MBFs) and is likely to be operational from the fourth quarter of the F.Y. 2008-09. In phase # 1, the production is planned at 110000 tpa, a part of which would be exported.