BlueScope Steel Ltd, a leading flat steel manufacturer in Australia and New Zealand, is setting up a steel-building unit at Chopanki near the Bhiwadi industrial area in Rajasthan, with an investment of Rs 90 crore (Rs 900 million).
After a detailed enquiry about possibilities in locations like Jaipur, Neemrana, and Bhiwadi, the company has purchased 10 acres of land in Chopanki and will start construction work shortly, according to state government officials.
The Australian steel major was also considering setting up similar units at Pune and Chennai, sources said.
The firm will manufacture its "Lysaght" range of steel-building products and the "Butler" brand of pre-engineered steel buildings at the proposed facility. It will be using its "Colorbond" and "Zincalume" brands of steel for manufacturing steel-building solution products.
With its new facility, BlueScope will join the league of multinationals like GE Capital International Services, Ericsson Telecommunication Ltd, Electrolux Kelvinator, and the Caparo Group, which are present in Rajasthan.
BlueScope Steel, specialising in the production of flat steel products, including slab, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, plate, tin plate and value-added metallic coated and painted steel products, has a wide manufacturing and marketing footprint in Australia, New Zealand, and some Asian and North American countries.
The company's 5.1-million-tonne a year integrated steelworks at Port Kembla in New South Wales in Australia is the largest steel facility in that country. The company is also one of the world's lowest-cost producers of steel products.
BlueScope Steel has a network of more than 50 roll-forming facilities in 13 countries and is the market leader in pre-engineered metal buildings in China and North America.
Besides Australia and New Zealand, the company has steel rolling, coating, and painting plants located in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Two plants of the company are under construction in China and Vietnam.
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