Mr Manzer Hussain

It is a business that Tata Steel is already a leader in. But in its 50th year of existence, the company’s Tubes SBU is now pumping in “adrenaline” to accelerate far ahead of all its competitors. On the anvil is a major modernisation and expansion plan, restructuring of the channel and emphasis on Retail Value Management in a big way. Tisco News spoke to Mr Manzer Hussain, Executive-in-Charge (Tubes) to find out what is being planned.

TN: How do you expect to grow the business?
MH: Looking at the overall business of the division, we plan to grow the entire business by both sweating our assets and expanding our operations. We will focus on growing the existing business as well as are looking at new business opportunities such as oil and gas pipes. We hope to climb up the value chain for all the sectors that we are in.
Our intention is to target the high end of the business, and offer the best product, which is why we need to revamp our mills. It will allow us to service sectors such as the auto industry.

TN: What is the planned expansion target for the business, in capacity and financials?
MH: We will add new mills, to bring in an additional 36,000 tonnes capacity for precision tubes and 80,000 in commercial tubes, or over 70% of our existing capacity. The target that has been given to us by the Managing Director, Mr B Muthuraman is to achieve a turnover of Rs 1500 crores by FY 2008 as against Rs 670 crores today, i.e. two and a half times our current turnover.

TN: How will the product range be different, post modernisation?
MH: We are planning to commission facilities by world renowned suppliers of the latest technology. This will ensure that in terms of quality, we will be the best in the country and will also match world standards.
We will be adding a 4” Mill for the manufacture of precision tubes to produce products for the Engineering and Auto segments. These products will be of superior dimensional tolerances and suitable for high end application.
In the commercial tubes segment where low cost adds to competitive advantage, we plan to put up a modern mill capable of manufacturing 1/2” to 3” tubes suitable for plumbing and irrigation sector. The main focus will be on higher productivity, low cost, uniform zinc coating and above all a well presented branded product.

Products that surpass any offering from the competition

TN: Where do you plan to make a difference in the current channel management system?
MH: Precision tubes do not have channels as they are sold directly to consumers. For the convenience of our customers we have service centres at Faridabad, Hosur and Pune, where the country’s auto majors are based. We will adopt customer value management for such customers.
In commercial tubes, we hope to make a big difference through the Retail Value Management process. We obviously will have to organise ourselves to handle the capacity post expansion. Therefore, channels will have to be strengthened, new channels brought in and our entire process reassessed. Since we are reaching out to customers from Jamshedpur, we must have very strong and reliable channel partners.

TN: What is the greatest threat to the business?
MH: Substitution is the greatest threat that we face. We, therefore, need to establish ourselves as a green product and the only environment friendly option.