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Hot rolled accounts for 55 per cent; cold rolled, 28 per cent. and coated products 16 per cent. of Tata Strip Products UK’s order book. Tata has a 50 per cent. share of the UK’s strip products market and also delivers to selective European markets eg. Northern Spain, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France. (Source: Tata Steel Investors’ presentation April 2011).

Because of the global economic situation, demand for galvanised and Colorcoat products has stagnated resulting in under-utilised capacity at the works. Despite this, Tata continues to invest in new plant and processes. The No. 5 hot dip galv. line now has equipment for applying strippable film, to service the Russian market, and a chemical coater is being installed, to enable chromated hdg to be removed from the hdg product range by 2012. A second thermal oxidiser is also being installed on the No. 2 Colorcoat Line, to reduce emissions.

Solar cell pilot project ends

The project, to prove the manufacturing process for applying dye solar cells onto coil coated steel strip as a precursor to volume production, is completed by Tata Steel Europe and photovoltaic specialists Dyesol in August. The aim is to produce sheet steel “sprayed” with solar cells for use as energy and carbon saving roofing material for warehouses, offices and other buildings. Tata Steel currently supplies one hundred million square metres of roofing and wall material annually, (Source: Tata Steel Europe Collaboration web site: www.dyesol.com/partners ).