Dear Friends,

The month of December is when the business planning for the new financial year is kicked off. Our MD has set some new targets for the financial year 2008. These targets are;

• Increase in production
• Cost reduction by Rs.500 per tonne
• Benefits from TOC initiatives

Our MD has also rededicated Tata Steel to systems improvement. Judgement of people will be based on their participation in TOC, TPM and Daily Management System. At Wire Division also we have decided to roll out Daily Management System at six units, namely the two LRPC lines at Borivli and Indore, the two tyre bead lines at Tarapur and Bangalore, the galvanizing line (GFI) at Borivli and Wire Rod Mill (West). We shall also be targeting over 95% compliance to our customer orders for more than 80% of our products by August 2008. Come let us make these aspirations a reality.

May I also take this opportunity to wish you and your families a prosperous, promising and safe year 2007.

Crowning Glory

There was cheer all around when the Steel Wire Manufacturers Association of India (SWMAI), at the 36th Annual General Meeting held on 15th November 2006 at Kolkata, unanimously elected our Executive In-Charge, Mr. Harish Pathak as its Chairman. We are confident that all critical concerns confronting the wire industry in India will be tackled with the finesse of a Tata Steel professional and that SWMAI will march confidently ahead on its proven track under the able leadership of Mr. Pathak.
Congratulations, Sir, on this very special honour bestowed on you. It is truly a momentous chapter in the history of Wire Division.

TPM workshop for executives from SIW & WUXI: Dec 23-30th 2006

9 executives from our group company, M/s Nat Steel (3 from China Plant - Wuxi & 6 from Thailand Plant - SIW) and 1 executive from Tata China Shanghai office, visited Jamshedpur / Kharagpur / Mumbai to see TPM activities being done at our company. In addition to getting technical inputs on TPM (including the results/effects achieved at our various plants through TPM activities), they also visited the following plants of our company in order to see the effect of these activities on the shop floor.

• A-F Blast Furnaces • LD # 2 & Slab Caster • Cold Rolling Mill • Precision Tube Mill (Tubes Div.) • Ring Plant • New Bar Mill • Wire Rod Mill • Tarapur Wire Plant • Borivli Wire Plant   The workshop was conducted keeping in mind that these executives were to implement the same, once they are back in their respective plants. The workshop was a success and ended in Mumbai with a parting dinner to the executives on the rooftop of Hotel Orchid. TPM activities will now start at WUXI and SIW and as the effort goes on, interactions with Mumbai and Jamshedpur will intensify. Rahul Lal