Running at 100% capacity now, NINL was home to snakes, scorpions when acquired by Tata Steel: MD

Kalinganagar (Odisha): Snakes and scorpions crawled the premises of NINL, the land around was covered with bushes and the plant machinery was full of rust, its MD & CEO Sudhir Kumar Mehta said remembering the challenges involved in restarting the sick unit within a set 90-day deadline.

The company was in debt, Mehta said, adding NINL is now doing financially good and has generated a revenue of around Rs 3,000 crore in the April-September or first half of the ongoing fiscal. On July 4, 2022, Tata Steel completed the acquisition of Odisha-based Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) — the first state-owned steel company to be divested by the Narendra Modi-led government — through its erstwhile subsidiary Tata Steel Long Products (TSLP) for a consideration of Rs 12,100 crore.

“NINL premises is of 2,500 acre. It had been closed for a long period. When we first entered the unit post the acquisition, there were snakes, scorpions, and lizards crawling in the premises. Bushes up to several feet had grown all over the area and the plant machinery was lying non-functional in rust,” Mehta said, replying to a question on the revival of the sick unit within a 90-day deadline set by the parent Tata Steel.

Accordingly, a detailed plan was chalked out and the entire area was cleaned and made accessible. The offices and buildings were repaired and reconstructed and broadband lines were laid to connect the plant with outside world, he said.

In August, all the employees were paid their entire salary as per the take over agreement, Mehta said. NINL’s 1 million tonne per annum (MTPA) steel manufacturing unit at Kalinganagar, around 120 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, was closed for over three years on account of various reasons including lack of funds.

Further, technical and mechanical experts from Tata Steel plants in Kalinganagar, Jamshedpur, and Meramandali worked non-stop to restart the NINL blast furnace on October 11, 2022, and the first billet was casted within two weeks on day of Diwali - October 24, he said.

“It was indeed a momentous day for the entire NINL family to have celebrated Diwali in such a way - with a new found purpose and pride. All eyes were wet with emotions to see the plant operating once again,” Mehta recalls.

T V Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel, said: “The team from Tata Steel and the erstwhile employees of NINL have worked together to revive and turnaround a plant that has been shut for almost three years and we are now operating at full capacity. This is a great testament to their passion, commitment, and capability. NINL is poised to grow and form a very important part of Tata Steel group’s long product portfolio.”

Besides, there were numerous other challenges involved in making the plant operational within the targeted time, Tata Steel Vice President

(Long Products) Ashish Anupam said.