The Steel Industry

One of the top products in the manufacturing sector of the world is steel and the recycled material. Asian countries dominate the production of steel worldwide, with India being one of the fastest growing steel industries, also coming to be considered as potential global steel hub, internationally. Especially after adopting the liberalization policies in the whole world, the steel industry witnessed a tremendous growth and modernization.

It is a booming industry with ever growing demand, mostly due to the development projects that have taken on almost every sector and service. An example of that is the continuous work to improve infrastructure, or complete real estate projects, which have indeed skyrocketed especially in the highly developed countries, but also in those in course of development.

Until recently dominated by the US, India is coming from behind, at rapid pace, through its Indian Steel Companies on an acquisition spree. Only for the past year we have witnessed two big M&A deals, namely The Mittal Steel, listed in Holland, and the Tata Steel of India or TISCO (as listed in BSE). The former has taken over the world's largest steel company, Arcelor Steel to become Arcelor-Mittal, now the world’s biggest steel producer, while the latter has acquired Corus, 5th biggest steel producer, having the highest stock price.

For the last decade, the Steel Industry is becoming a major sector of economy, enjoying a privileged and strong financial condition, especially with the increasing needs of steel for different projects that have pushed the producers of steel very close to their operative capacity.

The early sixties meant a significant growth in the steel industry, which lasted for the next 14 years, the consumption of steel doubling, registering a growing rate of 5.5 %. However a there followed phase of deceleration, which culminated in 1982. This decrease finally slowed down, only to gain ground again and move upward in the early 1990s.

Steel Industry is turning into a very competitive sector with every passing day. The major need for steel comes from the Automobile industry, Construction Industry, Infrastructure Industry, Oil and Gas Industry, as well as Container Industry.

Needless to say that the innovations in Steel Industry so as to minimize production cost while maximizing production are seen in the implementation of cutting edge technologies, such as thin-slab casting, making of steel through the use of electric furnace, vacuum degassing, etc. At a global level in 2004, the steel industry became a billion tons industry, and its growth depends only on the consumption of steel in the developing countries.