ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) has inaugurated its advanced Pickling Line and Tandem Cold Mill (PLTCM) at the company’s flagship Hazira plant in Gujarat, marking a major push towards India’s self-reliance in high-end automotive steel production. The state-of-the-art facility was inaugurated by Keiichi Ono, Ambassador of Japan to India. With a production capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum, the new line will manufacture high-quality cold-rolled base steel for advanced automotive applications, including Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS), Galvannealed (GA), Galvanised (GI), and Press Hardened Steel (PHS).
AM/NS India said the facility would help reduce import dependence and support the domestic production of world-class and patented automotive steel products using technology from parent firms ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel. The company added that the unit would strengthen India’s automotive manufacturing ecosystem and align with the government’s “Make in India” and “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” initiatives. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Ono said Japanese technology had played a key role in launching high-end steel manufacturing in India and described India-Japan industrial cooperation as mutually beneficial.
In Kolkata, the expansion could positively impact eastern India’s automotive and manufacturing supply chains. Kolkata-based automobile component traders and industrial buyers are expected to benefit from improved domestic availability of high-grade automotive steel, potentially reducing dependence on imported material and stabilising supply for manufacturers across eastern and northeastern markets.
