History of Tata Sponge Iron Ltd.
YEAR EVENTS 1982 - The Comp. was incorporated on 31st July 1982. It manufactures Sponge Iron. The Comp. was promoted jointly by Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa limited & The Tata Iron and Steel Co. limited to set up in the joint sector a plant for the manufacture of sponge iron.
- The Comp. decided to employ the TISCO Direct Reduction [TDRs] process for manufacture of sponge iron which is 100% non-cooking coal based. TISCO were appointed technical consultants for project. TISCO were not only to supply know-how but were also to provide basic engineering under a technical collaboration agreement.
- Under the technical consultancy agreement TISCO would provide technical consultancy comprising design/project engineering, project management, project implementation, etc., as well as the technical know-how for TDR process.
- The Tata Iron and Steel Co. Ltd., indicated their willingness to purchase the entire output of Comp. at rulling market prices for use at Jamshedpur. The Comp. also received many enquiries for supplying sponge iron from other foundries, electric furnace, steel makers, etc.
1984 - 70 shares subscribed for by signatories to the Memorandum of Association. 31,99,970 shares reserved & allotted to IPICOL & 29,99,960 shares reserved & allotted to TISCO. 58,80,000 shares offered at par for public subscription during June-July.
1986 - The Comp. became a potentially sick Comp. as more than 50% of the peak networth during the year had got eroded.
1987 - The kiln had to be shut down for replacing a part of the original refractory lining. The Comp. faced multifarious problems such as refractory failure, malfunctioning of some important equipments etc. In addition, for want of iron ore, the plant was shut down for 105 days in the first half of year & for 47 days in the second half of year.
- To overcome the raw material shortage, the Comp. entered into a conversion arrangement with Tata Steel at a mutually agreeable conversion rate.
- Tata Steel proposed to install 2 small crushers within the plant to crush the lump iron ore which was easily available. The Comp. installed two captive DG sets each of 1000 KVA capacity.
- The Comp. entered into a foreign collaboration agreement with M/s. Lurgi GmbH for upgradation of annual production capacity from 90,000 to 1,20,000 TPA.
1988 - A reference was therefore made to BIFR the hearing of which was held on 13th September. As directed by BIFR, necessary rehabilitation package was submitted to IDBI, the lead financial institution, seeking certain reliefs/concessions together with a loan of Rs 385 lakhs for implementing the lurgi modification scheme mentioned below under the caption `Foreign Collaboration'.
1989 - Financial institution sanctioned certain reliefs/concessions to the company.
- The Comp. received the Industrial licence for increasing its capacity to 1,20,000 TPA.
1990 - Production declined to 58,676 tonnes due to 109 days plant shut down for implementation of modification-cum-upgradation scheme followed by two more shut downs for a total period of 61 days for overcoming teething troubles.
- The final package containing certain reliefs & concessions sanctioned by BIFR was received by Comp. & its implementation began during the year.
1993 - BIFR vide its order dated 29th October, declared the Comp. to be out of its purview consequent upon making its net worth positive & earning net profit. 1994 - The operations of Comp. affected primarily because of charging off of extra-ordinary items like sales tax, enhanced interest to Financial Institution, differential interest to TISCO etc.
- 34,00,000 No. of equity shares allotted at par on conversion of loan to financial institution.
1995 - The expansion project for raising the capacity from 1,20,000 TPA to 2,40,000 TPA by installation of an additional kiln was now under implementation.
1996 - Profitability decreased due to increase in input cost & hike in power tariff.
- Effective 24th September, the name of Comp. was changed from `Ipitata Sponge Iron Ltd.' to `Tata Sponge Iron Ltd'.
1997 - After achieving the prestigious ISO-9O02 Certification, the Comp. continued its march towards Total Quality Management.
- The Comp. has excellent track record in the area of safety and has bagged first prize for two consecutive years from Government of Orissa.
- The Comp. received first prize in the category 'Lowest Weighted Frequency Rate of Accident', & for year under review, it was awarded first prize for 'The Longest Accident Free Period'. A trophy & certificate have been received for same.
- The Comp. undertook community & rural developmental activities, such as provision & maintenance of tube wells for potable drinking water, construction of school in Indraprastha village, repairing & adding class rooms in Bilaipada schools, aiding in cash & kind in organising sports activities.
1998 - The Railway siding was commissioned on 29th March, & the Comp. has since started receiving coal by rail & back loading sponge iron from the siding.
- During the year the Comp. secured second position in the market share of eastern India & has plan to notch-up top position in the coming years.
- The Comp. has been actively participating in the promotion of educational & social welfare activities for inhabitants in its surrounding villages.
1999 - During the year, the Comp. entered new markets & despatches have been made for first time to markets in the north-east from the company newly constructed railway siding.
- The Comp. has started development work at the Khondbond Mines of Tata Steel & work is in advanced stages of completion.
2001 - Mr. I.S.P. Shetti has retired as Managing Director & Mr Ashok Pandit has been appointed in his place.
2002-IDBI sold 790647 shares of Tata Sponge Iron
2004-The trading symbol of Tata Sponge Iron Limited shall be changed from 'IPITATASPO' to 'TATASPONGE' w.e.f February 11, 2004
-Delist from Ahmedabad Stock Exchange with effect from October 15, 2004.
-Delist from The Delhi Stock Exchange Association Ltd [DSEs] with effect from December 11, 2004.
-LIC launches Jeevan Akshay-III
