>BIHAR TUBES LIMITED (UNICON INVESTMENTS)

Company Description: Incorporated in 1986, BTL is a leading manufacturer and exporter of Steel Pipes & Tubes. It produces widest range of steel tubes including black tubes, galvanised tubes, pre-galvanised tubes and hollow sections and caters to industry segments like irrigation, urban infrastructure, automotive (bus bodies), airports, metro networks, etc. Ashok Leyland, Tata Marcopolo, Delhi airport, Gujarat Gas, Mundra SEZ, IRCON and Automobile Corporation of India are some of the major clientele.

Investment highlights

Strong Industry Growth
Demand for steel tubes in last three years has seen a tremendous growth following government’s thrust on urban infrastructure. With emphasis on aesthetics and complex structural designs in segments like airports, commercial complexes, usage of steel tubes and hollow sections has gone up. The entire tubes industry is situated in the north. The entire southern region is supplied by northern players who have to incur huge freight costs. BTL plans to expand in the southern region to tap this demand and cut the supply / freight costs.

Strong Expansion to drive growth
BTL has three plants in the country with an aggregate capacity of 200,000 TPA: two near Delhi and one near Bangalore. The company has inaugurated its fourth facility in Hosur, Tamilnadu in January 2010 to cater to the southern market. The facility is the largest in South India and is being built at a capital cost of INR 1bn and a capacity of 200,000 TPA. With the Hosur facility, Bihar Tubes is the largest producer of steel tubes in the country having total capacity of 400,000 TPA up to a size of 12 inches. The new facility has been built with latest machinery of
Kusakabe, Japan.

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