STAINLESS STEALS A MARCH

Stainless steel is evolving as the metal of the future for its durability and sustainability and is quickly becoming the preferred alternative in infrastructure building and a host of industries, prompting producers to expect a 10 per cent growth in demand 

- Tarannum Manjul

H STORY MAPS development in terms of discovery and use of metals and indeed, metals and their refinement have accompanied industrialisation everywhere, as in India. The consumption of steel is always a yardstick of the level of industrial activity, since the alloy has permeated every aspect of life from dwellings, flyovers, bridges, automobiles, factories and even the cutlery on the table.

Of late stainless steel has begun to replace carbon steel as a preferred building material, being more durable and sustainable. A stainless steel footbridge, for instance, was inaugurated in Visakhapatnam not too long ago. Recently, the city of Melbourne in Australia did a life cycle costing comparison between carbon steel and stainless steel for its street furniture. The results were overwhelming and indicated cost savings of AUD 6.2 million over 25 years.

Moreover, stainless steel furniture is expected to last much longer than 25 years which would imply even higher realised savings over the years. Stainless steel is corrosion resistant, fire resistant and impact resistant, apart from being hygienic and aesthetic in appearance. Stainless steel is often considered an alternative to plastics because of these qualities and the alloy certainly ranks higher on the sustainability quotient.

KUSH GUPTA 
Director, SKG Assets & Holdings

"While bigger players such as Tata Steel, APL Apollo and JSW usually grab investors' interests, smaller players such as Godavari Power, Rama Steel, Hi-Tech, Lloyd Steel Pipes will continue to see higher revenues, "