Mumbai, September 16, 2015: Mahindra Auto Steel, a subsidiary of Mahindra Intertrade, part of the USD 16.9 bn Mahindra Group, has opened its automotive steel processing facility in the auto belt of Chakan, near Pune, Maharashtra. This state-of-the-art facility is a joint venture with China Steel Global Trading Corporation, Taiwan and Mitsui & Co (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, Singapore. While Mahindra Intertrade holds 51% in the JV, the other partners hold 24.5% each.

The facility has been set up at a cost of Rs 110 crore (USD 17 million) in Phase I, over 10 acres of land, with an annual processing capacity of 100,000 tonnes. This plant is the 7th steel service centre in the Mahindra Intertrade family, its 3rd in the Pune region, and its 3rd automotive steel processing facility.

Equipped with a state-of-the-art Blanking Line from Fagor Arrasate of Spain, India's first servo line, this facility will offer automotive customers in the Pune region the entire bouquet of services such as sourcing, warehousing, yield optimisation, forex risk management and SKU-wise JIT delivery, and products such as blanks, trapezoids and profiles.

Speaking at the launch announcement Harsh Kumar, Managing Director, Mahindra Intertrade Ltd, and Member, Group Executive Board, M&M Ltd said, "It gives us immense pleasure to announce commencement of operations at our new plant in Chakan. This world-class facility located in the automotive hub of Chakan, and backed by the highest quality steel from our partners, would help redefine the automotive steel supply chain model in the region."

According to Yi-Jen Kuo, Managing Director, China Steel Global Trading India Pvt Ltd, "China Steel Corporation Group has been at the helm of developing high-end steel products such as automotive steel since 1995. India is one of our key markets for automotive steel owing to the growth potential of the automobile industry. Through our strategic alliance with Mahindra Intertrade and Mitsui & Co, we are confident of providing manufacturers in India with the highest quality products and services, and in turn contribute towards this rapidly developing industry."

This high-strength, high-speed facility has been especially designed for the manufacture of nested blanks, and offers significantly higher levels of material yields to its customers, a distinct plus in the current competitive environment.

MASL's new facility at Chakan is constructed in accordance to IGBC's Green Building norms, and incorporates features such as enhanced indoor air quality, treatment of non-process waste water, rain water harvesting, et al.