The company has set an ambitious target to double its capacity by 2025. A clear plan to achieve the same is in place and it is taking steps in the same direction.

Mr. Rajiv Kumar Soni, Executive-in-Charge at Global Wires India – Tata Steel, sheds light on the factors which have played an enormous role in the growth of the company, the manufacturing capabilities of the company, the different innovations in the product portfolio brought out by Global Wires, and the recent GreenCo certification, in an exclusive interaction with Wire & Cable India.

Wire & Cable India: A subdivision of the one of the oldest industrial groups and a multinational conglomerate – Tata Group, Tata Steel- Global Wires India is regarded as a market leader in the steel wire industry. What do you think has been the factors which have played a role in achieving the growth and the significant milestones you have attained so far?

Rajiv Kumar Soni: As Tata group, we are built on a foundation of trust and transparency. This forms the basis of every business we operate in. The core values of – Integrity, Excellence, Unity, Pioneering and Responsibility are imbibed in our working culture and the way we conduct our business.

The main factors that have played a major role in achieving our growth are:

Quality in and beyond – We never compromise on our quality.
Commitment and customer focus – Honor our commitments and fulfill our customer needs.
Innovation and agility – This is the key factor that keeps us ahead of our competitors. Catching up with the new technologies and digitizing our processes; Flexibility in quick change of SKUs to suit customer requirements.
Sustainability – Strive to be a sustainable organization contributing towards environment & society.

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WCI: Could you please shed some light on the current manufacturing capabilities of the company and the ways in which you ensure that the operational efficiency is maintained?

RKS: We are the pioneers in various steel wire products such as MTB, LRPC, Spring & GI with vast product portfolio for various applications and hold 15% of market share. Our wire manufacturing capacity in India stands at 400 KTPA in FY20 with multi-locational facilities; and have a PAN India distributor network.

We have adopted Global Wires Operational Excellence Model (GWOEM) to achieve world class quality and operational excellence. Moreover, we have successfully completed level-1 in GWOEM at our spring steel plant and now horizontally deploying the same across all other plants. Implementation of ISO 45001 and integration with ISO 14001 is also underway.

To enhance our commercial presence and reach, we have also started sales through our e-commerce portal – Aashiyana.

WCI: Global Wires India is regarded as one of largest steel wire manufacturers, having presence around the world. Could you please describe the kind of investment the company has to put forth in order to enhance the operational and commercial presence in the global market?

RKS: We at Global Wires India operate under different business models. We have our own plants and steel wire processing centers managed by our partners through EPA model. We have our manufacturing facilities in various places in India, major ones being in Tarapur, Pithampur and Jamshedpur, as well as in Thailand through our group company Siam Industrial Wires. We expand our manufacturing presence by way of our own investments as well as through our EPA partners (Steel Wire Processing Centers). We select our manufacturing locations such that our logistics cost is well optimized in terms of distance from the raw material source and proximity to our customers and markets.

Our vast distributor and dealer network ensures the reach to the remotest corners in the country. To enhance our commercial presence and reach, we have also started sales through our e-commerce portal-Aashiyana. To make our digital presence felt, our brand Tata Wiron is gaining strength and popularity on various social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube etc. and is helping us attract customers to our high value propositions. We have also introduced a supply chain optimization portal – COMPASS, for our institutional customers, to provide end-to-end visibility of their requirements.

Our innovative offerings under services & solutions is also getting a lot of love and praise from our customers and helping us become their close partners. Our endeavor is always to bring quality and comfort to our customers in all ways possible, and we are proud to say that we are dwelling well on the path and strive to be better at it. Our new product in fencing segment – ‘Knotted Fence’ is another step to listen to the customer needs. The product has been demonstrated in various locations and the initial responses from the market are very encouraging. Offerings like “Fencing Solutions”, which includes raw material and installation of fences, are aimed at offering end-to-end solutions to our customers.

WCI: In 2019, the company had announced its plan of expanding capacity to 8 lakh tonnes and to reach a market share of 23% by 2025. What has been the progress in this regard and the growth plan and the capacity enhancement strategy you have devised in order to achieve the said goal?

RKS: We have set an ambitious target to double our capacity by 2025. A clear plan to achieve the same is in place and we are taking steps in the same direction. We are trying to grow both organically and inorganically. With our foray into Induction Hardened and Tempered (IHT) wire segment and expansions in wire products for fencing, we would start seeing the growth plans materializing soon. We would also continue to work on our plans to expand in our existing segments and we intend to keep exploring the introduction of new products/SKUs/variants to the market as well.

With our foray into Induction Hardened and Tempered (IHT) wire segment and expansions in wire products for fencing, we would start seeing the growth plans materializing soon.

We are also going aggressive in our services & solutions space to bring customized solutions for our customer needs. We are exploring various new market segments and new product variants to continue our journey of innovation and agility.

WCI: Has there been any recent development at Global Wires India that you would like to share and what are the future goals of the company going forward?

RKS: Global Wires India has been awarded Gold rating by GreenCo, which is a testament of our environment-friendly activities, by examining a number of aspects, such as energy efficiency, water conversation, renewable energy, green supply chain etc. Also, we strive to be a thoroughly sustainable organization and all of our projects will be developed in a more sustainable way. Few glimpses of our efforts and initiatives in the direction of sustainability are:

Zero Liquid Discharge plant is operational.
Creating Miyawaki forests – 11000 trees of more than 50 different species were planted in an area of 3500 sqm in and around our plant premises.
Organic waste management.

Our adoption of Global Wires Operational Excellence Model (GWOEM) to achieve world class quality and operational excellence is another of our proud steps to serve the best for our customers.

Tata Steel has always been the pioneer in bringing new and innovative products and solutions to serve its customers. Global Wires India has always followed this path and brought in many novel solutions recently. We are constantly working on developing various coated products with our own patents as well as by working with start-ups on nano-technologies. Our recent product offerings include:

Aayush coated galvanized wires to enhance the durability and aesthetics of the product, through the patented coating technology of Tata Steel.
Knotted fence for strength, durability and aesthetics with a weld free fencing solution. It is first of its kind in India.
Induction Hardened and Tempered Wire (IHT) wires for auto sector, being produced in India for the first time.
Anti-cut and anti-climb fences for superior security solution and aesthetics.
PE coated galvanized strands for stay cable bridges for high durability and strength

WCI: What is the current worth of the steel wire market and the projected growth of the segment? In view of the market outlook and the anticipated trends you envision for the sector, please chart out the key innovations and the technological upgrades you have brought at your company?

RKS: With the pandemic around, the economic growth has slowed down and has impacted the wires business in short run as well. However, we are hopeful of quick revival soon. One big change which has come in due to this pandemic is in terms of the wide adoption of digital platforms in our lives. With most people stranded at home for almost six months now, their engagement in the digital world and social media has increased manifold. This is expected to continue post the revival of normalcy.

Global Wires India has been awarded Gold rating by GreenCo, which is a testament of our environment-friendly activities.

Therefore, the focus on the digital reach to the customers and finding technologically superior solutions shall be of utmost importance going forward. The expectation of the door step delivery of products, services and solutions may go up. The adoption of the e-commerce portals for ordering all types of products has gone up. The partnership of the sales force with the customers would be the key differentiating factor in the market.

Technological innovations to provide superior products and quality assurance remains to be the core focus of our business. We continue to bring technological innovations and upgradations in our products and services basket to bring superior solutions for our customers.

WCI: Anything else that you would like to add to this interaction?

RKS: We wish all our business partners, customers and all stakeholders the best during these difficult times. We all know that ‘Tough times don’t last but Tough people do’; we feel committed towards our cause and believe strongly that we all will come out of these times, much stronger and better. These are also the times to identify the areas for cost cutting, better optimization of our supply chain and rationalization of our product offerings. While the economic growth got affected badly in the first half of the year, we hope for a quicker economic recovery for all in second half of the year.