His Excellency Mr. Kosit Panpiemras Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry of Thailand visited Tata Steel today.

On his brief trip to Jamshedpur, the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand was impressed with the Steel City and the heritage it enjoys. He thanked Tata Steel for inviting him to Jamshedpur and he wrote in the visitor's diary at the Tata Steel Archives which said, "I had been interested myself since a long time to come to this city and learn about J N Tata's role in the development of this great nation. The Founder's vision is still a superb example which will benefit the development process of nations like mine for a long time."

He was accompanied by his team of delegates which included Mr. Satit Chanjavanakul, Secretary General, Board of Investment (BOI), Mr. Vittaya Praisuwan, Executive Investment Advisor, BOI, Mr. Salil Wisalswadi, Director - Metals, Metal Products, Machinery and Transport Equipment Division, Mr. Boonrux Saphyakhajon, Investment Promotion Officer, BOI, Mr. Weeraphon Iamjaroenchai, Investment Promotion Officer, BOI, Mr. Kamet Buranasin, Vice-President, Bangkok Bank and Mr. Khun Santi. The Deputy Prime Minister was welcomed by Mr. B Muthuraman, Managing Director - Tata Steel and was informed about the various activities, initiatives, systems and processes that are followed at Tata Steel.

As a part of his visit to the Steel city, the Deputy Prime Minister and his delegation, visited Tata Steel Works where they were shown the G Blast Furnace, Slab Caster, Hot Strip Mill and the continuous galvanizing line at Cold Rolling Mill. They also went around the Tata Steel Archives and visited the newly designed "Founder's Gallery" which was inaugurated on August 26, 2007 to mark Tata Steel's Centenary celebrations. The Deputy PM was taken through the gallery which showcases the 100 year long journey of Tata Steel. After this Mr. Kosit Panpiemras planted a tree at 'Smriti Udyan' in Jubilee Park.

His schedule also included a visit to Tata Motors.

We would like to mention that Tata Steel has two establishments in Thailand. The first is Tata Steel Thailand which was formed when Tata Steel acquired Millennium Steel, Thailand. This company is now a dominant steel producer in Thailand with a capacity of 1.7 million tons a year. The other is Sila Eastern Company Limited in Thailand which has also been established to develop limestone mines in Thailand, mainly for the captive use of Tata Steel.