Tata Steel today unveiled "Tata Astrum", a new brand of its Hot Rolled products range, at an event held here today. This is the first time that the Company has made a foray into branding of HR products in the SME segment.

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

Tata Astrum HR coils and Sheets will be produced from two of Tata Steel’s mills at 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 service centres that will be certified by Tata Steel for quality products. The material will be supplied to customers in processed form out of the service centres.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. T. V. Narendran, Vice President, Safety and Flat Products, Tata Steel, said: "Tata Steel is constantly endeavouring 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".

The 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 per cent in this segment in FY 14. 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.

About Tata Steel:
Established in 1907 as Asia's first integrated private sector steel company, Tata Steel Group is among the leading steel manufacturers in the world with an annual crude steel capacity of over 26.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). It is now the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries. The Tata Steel Group, with a turnover of US$ 26.13 billion in FY '12, has over 80,000 employees across five continents and is a Fortune 500 company. The Group’s vision is to be the world’s steel industry benchmark in "Value Creation" and "Corporate Citizenship" through the excellence of its people, its innovative approach and overall conduct. In 2008, Tata Steel India became the first integrated steel plant in the world, outside Japan, to be awarded the Deming Application Prize 2008 for excellence in Total Quality Management. In 2012, Tata Steel became the first integrated steel company in the world to win the Deming Grand Prize 2012 instituted by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers.