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— Anshul Singhal, President - Commercial, JSW Severfield Structures Ltd

JSW Severfield Structures Ltd, a joint venture between JSW Steel Ltd of India and Severfield Reeve Structures Ltd, UK's largest steel fabricating company, is engaged in structural steelwork fabrication business. Anshul Singhal speaks to Projectmonitor on a range of issues associated with the structural steel fabrication market in India and his company's own plans.

What is the current size of the global steel buildings market? What is India's share of this market?
Percentage of commercial structures built in steel in various global locations is as follows:

65-70%	25-35%	35- 45%	Circa 40%	>1%
UK	W. Europe	US	Japan	India

What are the technological advantages of structural steel fabrication compared to conventional construction?

• Factory produced product ensuring consistent quality
  
• Speed of construction
  
• Increase in net lettable area
  
• Reduction in foundations due to reduced structure weight
  
• Architecturally more pleasing
  
• Improved integration of services
  
• Environmentally greener
  

What are the main demand drivers for expanding the structural steel fabrication market in India?

• Chronic shortage of skilled civil workers
  
• Inconsistency in the quality of work
  
• Requirement for infrastructure to be implemented quickly
  
•  Congested sites and increasing strict norms from government regulations
•  Sustainability
  
• Shortage of space for housing of labour/storage
• Increasing awareness of health and safety on site
• Delays associated with rains
• Less delays in project execution and programmes maintained

Steel prices have risen by around 25 per cent in the past 12 months. How does steel price volatility impact the structural steelwork market?
Generally, the construction cost is around 10 per cent of the total project cost. This will ensure that only 50 per cent is affected by increases in steel prices. Therefore, the total effect in terms of percentage increase in project cost will not be large.

Concrete Encasement/ Gunite	Composite Columns
Boards	Vermiculux Supalux (Vermiculite calcium silicate mineral matrix)
Sprays	Mandolite CP2 Cafco C-300 (Vermiculite based formulations)
Intumescent	Paint-various products

Secondly, if steel is not used as an element of steel frame it will be used as TMT, rebars etc. in civil construction, so will still attract increases.

But in case of steel frame the reduced completion time of project provides other beneficial benefits which more than compensates for price increases.

Structural steelwork developers are pushing for long-term rate contracts and price variance clause with vendors to avoid volatility in steel prices.
 Price variance clause is mutually beneficial and reduces the risk of either side provided the formula for variation is drafted practically.

Annual corrosion loss to India's key sectors is enormous. How does JSSL's offsite shot blasting and painting systems assist in corrosion protection?
JSSL uses Swedish Standard Sa 2.5 for all plated and rolled section, and shot blasting is undertaken prior to welding for improved weld strength and finish. The humidity controlled paint chambers provide protective covering allowing uniform coating.

JSSL follows ISO 14001 environment standard in factory.

We provide options for painting scheme suiting to the requirement of client/consultant and building parameter.

The painting scheme is recommended based on the corrosion map of India depending upon the C1, C2 & C3 rating of the project.

With fire always posing a threat to infrastructure development, tell us about the recent fire protection solutions for steel structures?
As per international practices, there are various options available for different fire rating. We assist clients in selecting the connect product depending upon budget, fire rating, speed and finish desired for structure.

Severfield-Rowen reported a fall in half-year revenues and margins for the UK recently. Does it indicate that India will grow faster than Western countries in structural steelwork demand?
Clearly, the dynamic Indian economy will outperform Western countries in terms of steel consumption.

What is JSSL's future business strategy in India?
The company retains plans to expand its current plant and build in new locations across the country.

What are the new technologies that JSSL plans to introduce?
The company has brought to India the latest CNC fabrication technology and the automatic manufacture of plate girders. The company will also seek to demonstrate the major benefits of an integrated approach to steel buildings.

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