OREANDA-NEWS. December 12, 2012. Tata Steel launched Tata Astrum, a new brand for its range of hot rolled (HR) products, at an event in Faridabad. This was followed by subsequent launches in Mumbai and Kolkata later in the month. This is the first time that the company has made a foray into branding its HR products.

The initiative is aimed at de-commoditising steel and offering the best-in-quality product to customers. Tata Astrum follows the success of other Tata Steel brands, such as Tata Tiscon (rebars), Tata Shaktee (roofing sheets), Tata Steelium (cold rolled sheets), Galvano (galvanised sheets), Tata Structura (hollow sections), Tata Bearings (bearings), Agrico (agricultural implements), etc.

Tata Astrum HR coils and sheets will be produced at two Tata Steel mills in Jamshedpur and will be available in the 1.6 mm to 16 mm thickness range. Customers will be served through Tata Steel’s authorised distributors. A total of 42 such distributors have been appointed across the country. Each distributor will have a tie-up with one or more service centres that will be certified by Tata Steel for quality products. The material will be supplied to customers in processed form from the service centres.

The Tata Astrum product range will find application in the automotive, earth moving equipment, railways, fabrication, construction and industrial machinery segments. The size of the domestic market for hot rolled products in the SME segment is pegged at 6 mtpa. Tata Astrum hopes to garner a market share of 17-18 percent in this segment in FY14. This is expected to generate revenue of approximately Rs 4,000 crore for the company.

Additionally, the brand brings with it unique features such as process improvement support and knowledge sharing sessions for its customers. Besides, source authenticity of the material from Tata Steel is assured.

Speaking on the occasion, TV Narendran, vice president, safety and flat products, Tata Steel, said, “Tata Steel is on a constant endeavour to enhance customer satisfaction. With the launch of Tata Astrum, Tata Steel is offering convenience to its customers through consistent availability of ready-to-use quality HR products.”