Steel - ing all the success
Small and medium enterprises
(SME) are now making a mark in
the steel sector giving the large
enterprises a run for their money
by focusing on the services that
can be best delivered by them.
Triveni Enterprises, a
Bangalore-based steel service
centre, is one such minnow now
making it big in delivering services
to consumers of steel. The
company is expanding its
operations at plants in Bellary and
Bangalore with similar steel
service centres set up at
Visakhapatnam and Hosur.
According to Ashirwad
Agarwal, Director, Triveni
Enterprises, service centres are the
future of steel business. "World
over, steel is sold through service
centres. The practice is catching up
in India," he said. Companies like
Essar Steel and Uttam Galva
have also set up steel service
centres now.
Triveni is in steel trading too.
The company has signed a
memorandum of understanding
with the Steel Authority of India
(SAIL) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam
(RINL) to sell a fixed quantity of
steel for both the companies.
The enterprise is also engaging
itself in the concept of a steel
to cater the entire steel
requirement of their customers
from under one roof.
Escorts eyes
private equity
750-mln investment
Tractor maker Escorts Ltd is
looking ahead towards the private
equity firm Darby Overseas
Investments Ltd, part of the
Franklin Templeton group to invest
Rs 750 million in its construction
equipment unit.
"We are setting up a new plant
at Ballabgarh in Haryana.We hope
to start operations within 8-10
months," Escorts Chief Operating
Officer and Executive
Director Nikhil Nanda told Reuters
over telephone.
In December, Nanda had said
Escorts Construction Equipment
Ltd planned to double the output
to about 7,000 units a year. The
unit that manufactures pick-andcarry
cranes, forklift cranes,
compacters and loaders
posted revenue of Rs 3.5 billion
in 2005-06. "We are looking at
growth in all the segments we are
present in, for the next 3-4 years,"
Nanda said. Escorts has focussed
on expanding its construction
equipment business, in tandem
with increased activity in the
construction and property sector.
City Leaves hosts 'Textile
Kerala'fair
The Tirupur-based city Leaves had
arranged a three-day 'Textile
Ford India unveils a
new 2007 Ikon
Ford India launched its striking new
2007 Ikon equipped with rich
features recently in Hyderabad.
Their enhanced posh interiors and
attractive exteriors are the added
features targeting the youths. The
introduction of the 2007 Ikon in the
vibrant new colour - Jeans Blue -
has offered its consumers with
varied options to make a choice.
At the launch showcase, Tarun
Khanna, General Manager,
Marketing and Product Planning,
Ford India said,"The new 2007 Ikon,
is stylish. The new Jeans Blue colour
is especially conceptualised to meet
the young icons' need to stand out
and enjoy the product for its
performance, styling and luxury, all
at an irresistibly affordable price."
In addition to this, the 2007 Ford
Ikon is also available in a variety of
electrifying colours such as papkrika
red, moondust silver, diamond
white, panther black platinum and
jewel violet.
'With an attractive price tag, the
2007 Ikon offers spirited
performance with distinctive styling
for its young 25 to 30 year old
Indian consumers to 'Live Life with
Josh'. That's what the company says.
Let's see how the customers respond
to this car.
FTAs boon and curse
Implementation of Free trade
agreements (FTAs) by India with its
neighbouring and other trading
partners in the past few years has
encouraged trade negotiations
under the protection of the World
Trade Organisation (WTO), but at the
same time has run the risk of
turning prejudicial to the interests
of some domestic sectors.
These are the results found in
the post-Budget survey carried out
by the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(Ficci) that some 20 key industrial
products faced unfair competition
from Thai imports under the
bilateral FTA. The FTAs
with some other countries too
pose similar problems for
several products. Though the
finance minister has cut down the
so-called 'peak' customs duty for
non-agricultural goods to 10
per cent, market-distorting
mismatches in duty levels have not
been eliminated.
The short solution to the
problem is to have, uniform
multilateral rules for all with a low
tariff structure that does not give
negative protection to any industry.
Also, procedural safeguards need to
be examined afresh so that these
mistakes do not recur in the FTAs
now being negotiated with several
countries and trading blocs.
the machinist apr 2007
MakingHeadlines
10
N a t i o n a l
Kerala' fair exhibiting machineries,
accessories and fabrics for
textile and garment industry in
the city recently.
The fair opened up new
avenues by introducing a various
range of products and machinery
to the players in the sector.
Whereas, the setting up of textile
centre at Nadukani is regarded as
the major initiatives, which is
expected to attract investment as
most of the textile players are
ready for modernisation of the
existing units.
The exhibition not only
showcased a range of textile
accessories, fabrics, machineries
and spares, but also introduced
entrepreneurs to the world
innovations such as
coiling embroidery system and
computer designing.
The event also presented a
complete range of industrial
sewing machines like packing
machines, rapier loom,
fire-fighting equipment required
in textile units, line production
tables and checking and packing
tables, textile printing machines,
curing machines and yarn dyeing
machines of both Indian and
foreign manufacturers.
Ford India unveils a
new 2007 Ikon
Ford India launched its striking new
2007 Ikon equipped with rich
features recently in Hyderabad.
Their enhanced posh interiors and
attractive exteriors are the added
features targeting the youths. The
introduction of the 2007 Ikon in the
vibrant new colour - Jeans Blue -
has offered its consumers with
varied options to make a choice.
At the launch showcase, Tarun
Khanna, General Manager,
Marketing and Product Planning,
Ford India said,"The new 2007 Ikon,
is stylish. The new Jeans Blue colour
is especially conceptualised to meet
the young icons' need to stand out
and enjoy the product for its
performance, styling and luxury, all
at an irresistibly affordable price."
In addition to this, the 2007 Ford
Ikon is also available in a variety of
electrifying colours such as papkrika
red, moondust silver, diamond
white, panther black platinum and
jewel violet.
'With an attractive price tag, the
2007 Ikon offers spirited
performance with distinctive styling
for its young 25 to 30 year old
Indian consumers to 'Live Life with
Josh'. That's what the company says.
Let's see how the customers respond
to this car.
....CONTD
