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PSL - To Set Up Unit In W Asia

PSL Ltd, one of the largest pipe producers in the country, will set up its first fully owned international manufacturing unit by the end of this calendar year. The mill will be located in the West Asia, already a prime market for the company. “Though we have helped other companies set up pipe mills overseas, this will be the first time we will be doing it for ourselves,” said Ashok Punj, managing director.

With a capacity of one million tonne per annum, PSL manufactures and supplies spiral weld pipes for oil, gas and water transmission for onshore and offshore sectors. As in the case of 11 mills of the 12 that the company operates in India, the new facility in the Middle East will also have a capacity of 75,000 tonne per annum.

“The construction cost will also be almost the same except for the higher labour and land rates in the region,” added Punj. A 75,000-tonne pipe mill usually entails an investment of about Rs 20 crore. PSL’s 12th and biggest facility, based in Kandla, has a capacity of 3,00,000 tonne per annum. The West Asia facility will have a pipe mill and a coating plant. The equipment for the plant will be sourced from the company’s manufacturing unit in Daman.

Among its other international operations, the Rs 1,500-crore company had earlier bagged a Rs 54 crore order from Kazakhistan’s Ispat Karmet, a part of the Mittal Steel group, to set up a steel mill.

Usha International - Launches New Range Of Products

The fans manufacturing sector has seen little technological makeovers during the past several years, what with the unorganised sector giving the branded segment the run for its money. Usha International Limited, one of the country’s leading consumer durable marketing companies promoted by Shriram Group, has now changed the trend by introducing features such as remote operation and ionisers that were till now limited only to air-conditioners. Launching a new range of products from the company’s stable, including fans, sewing machines and water pumpsets in the Andhra Pradesh market here on Monday, Usha International Limited vice-president Prakash Narayan said the new plans were aimed at strengthening the company’s leadership position in the domestic market.

Among the new products that the company launched in the Andhra market also included water dispensers for which the market growth is almost 25 per cent with urban households switching over to bulk distilled water cans being supplied by local units, Narayan told the media. Ceiling fans with extra air delivery and spread, and fans with curved blades having aerodynamic features with prices ranging between Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,400 a piece, besides a new range of table fans to suit the rural and semi-urban markets, and portable diesel pumpsets were some of the products that were showcased during the press conference.