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Interaction
Stork calling
Established at the end of 80's as trading companies for customers
and industrial products, Stork Group of Companies, founded
by Dr. Jugendra Singh Raghav has evolved into minerals, metals
and heavy engineering goods trading group over the past years.
In 1995, with the establishment of Stork Handlesges m.b.H.,
the company entered into production of raw materials, special
alloys, chemicals, refractories and food products. BS Raghav,Managing
Director, Stork HKB (India) Pvt. Ltd., the authorised representative
of Stork Handlesges m.b.H., promotes and handles the India
business from its office in New Delhi. With vast technical,
administrative and business experience of 11 years of international
trading business, Raghav, an engineer by qualification, has
taken Stork to new heights in India. Enthusiastic about the
company's foray into power engineering equipments, Rahgav
has very clear-cut idea about his priorities and is all set
to take up new challenges for achieving these goals. Excerpts
from an interview to JUHI SHRIVASTAVA
Can you sum up the 10 years journey of your company for us?
I would like to sum up this 10 years journey as a great learning
experience. Due to the w ise and far-sighted policy of our
management and dedicated efforts of our experienced managers,
the group has achieved a lot within a short period of time
Last year, the group has registered a turnover of $140 million.
We are working as an exclusive marketing agent worldwide for
ilmenite and rutile produced by Volnogorsk mining & metallurgical
plant, Ukraine, one of the largest mining companies. We have
substantial interest in trading of ilmenite, rutile and zircon
produced by India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Sierra Leone. We
are an exclusive marketing agent for USA, Europe and India
for acid grade Fluorspar produced by the joint venture corporation"
Mongolrostsvetmet", Mongolia, the third largest producer
in the world. At present, we supplies a wide range of Titanium,
Magnesium and Aluminum products in compliance with ASTM, DIN,
EN, GOST standards produced by JSC "VSMPO-AVISMA"
Russia, the world's largest company producing titanium products.
So you can say, we are working with market leaders worldwide.
What is the market size for your products in India? How much
growth is expected?
We are involved in trading of minerals, heavy earth moving
machinery (HEMM) in India. We are developing our business
here and we have reached a turnover of about $ 25 million.
We are the exclusive distributors in India for titanium, sponge
and titanium milled products. We have acquired a stake in
Bothli (Bothli trade AG is a Switzerland based company), which
is forming a joint venture in India for setting up an integrated
project "Titanium" (mining & processing of titanium
minerals, titanium pigment and titanium sponge). This is in
advance stage of implementation at Andhra Pradesh. We are
also setting up Ferro Alloys manufacturing facility at Orissa.
There is a huge business potential for our companies in India
in the fields of minerals, rare metals, special alloys, and
HEMM equipments.
Among the various categories of products market by your company,
which product and country contributes the most to your business?
As you know, our group of companies produce raw materials,
special alloys, ferro alloys, titanium metals, metallurgical
and mining products. We are growing rapidly. At global level,
we source and market bulk minerals, titanium metals; compression
and pumping, metallurgical, mining, earth moving and power
generation equipments; railway wheels, pipes and tubes of
reputed manufacturers in Russia & CIS countries. Our group
of sourcing and marketing companies are situated in Austria,
Russia, USA, UK, Ukraine, Mongolia and India. Our marketing
and sourcing associates are located in China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam,
Italy, Hungry, Bulgaria, but we work worldwide. Each country
has a fair share of our business. I mean, each country have
a considerable contribution to our business. It's not possible
for me to put this into figures.
Do you encourage rental of your equipments? How do you plan
to tap this opportunity?
Not yet. Rental of equipments require lot of maintenance.
Right now we are very busy in implementing our other plans.
We are planning to have a production facility of ferrous alloy
in Orissa. We are busy in finalising and acquiring of land
for that. But we will definitely going to tap this opportunity
very soon, may be after one year. It's too early to say anything
right now. Considering mining is being privatised what are
your plans for mining equipments? Right now surplus mining
is more useful. The Indian representative company of Stork
Group i.e. Stork HKB (India) Pvt. Ltd. is involved in marketing
of mining equipments. We are at present supplying equipments
to various PSUs in India. We have plans to introduce dumpers,
accelerators, mineral beneficiation mining and machinery &
equipments, cedars, conveyors and many more such products
in the Indian market.
Can you talk about power engineering, which is your company's
new thrust area?
Along with our partners from Russia, we have envisaged doing
business in power sector. It is in the constructional stage.
We are in process of setting up a separate division for power
engineering equipments. Soon we will be able to supply plant,
equipment, technology, design and engineering. Stork group
can supply practically all the equipment required at power
plant. What is your share in mining equipment,metallurgical
equipment and power equipment? I can't talk about the share,
each of these are very different from other. You see, we have
just started our mining equipment business in India, some
two years back, so I can't define its share in figures. We
are still very new in this business. While, we are supplying
only spare parts of metallurgical equipments. We are at the
conception stage of power engineering equipment, so how can
I tell you the share of it? We have yet not supplied any thing
in this range.
What are the challenges of operating in India and what are
the benefits?
The biggest challenge of operating in India is managing growth
and tapping vast opportunities that are available today. The
benefits are of course of availability of huge market, abundant
manpower at economic rates and progressive policy of government
in view of globalisation.
Who are your major competitors?
What is your game plan to tackle them?
There is competition from all global majors in the field of
HEMM and power sector equipments. We have very efficient equipments
at very competitive price to offer from Russia & CIS countries.
We intend to provide best post sales services.
With the Indo-US nuclear deal in place what are the opportunities
you envisage for your business in India? We are not at all
in this sector. But as we are agents for many Russian companies,
the Indo- US nuclear treaty is also welcomed by us. Our Russian
associates would definitely like us to tap the opportunities
that this treaty will bring with it. We would like supplying
the equipments for them.
What is your game plan for India?
Where you see your company in the near future? Stork group
has chalked out business plan for India, which includes major
thrust in marketing of HEMM products from Russia & CIS
countries and participating in a joint venture for setting
up our integrated project "Titanium" and also in
process of setting up Ferro Alloys manufacturing unit at Orissa.
Both the projects are in advance stage of implementation.
Stork's Export-Import Portfolio EXPORT Minerals: Ilmenite,
Rutile and Zircon o Equipment and Spares o Chemicals: Aniline,
picramic acid, Diphenylamine, Potassium butylxanthate o Metals:
Master alloys for Titanium alloys, rare earth metals, titanium
sponge o Steel: rolled metal and tubes o Ferroalloys: Fe-Mn,
Fe-Ti and others o Other metals: railway wheels, bearings,
copper, aluminium, cast iron, stainless steel, cobalt, molybdenum,
antimony, tantalum o Coke IMPORT Oxides: Vanadium pentoxide,
Yttrium oxide and Molybdenum oxide o Equipments
Stork's Agencies:
JSC "Uralredmet" (Russia)
JSC "VSMPO" (Russia)
JSC "Avisma" (Russia)
"Volnogorsk State Mining Metallurgical Plant" (Ukraine)
JSC "Beraton" (Russia)
Stork's products:
Minerals (Titanium-Zircon products: Rutile, Ilmenite and Zircon)
Master alloys for Titanium alloys, rare and rare earth metals
Non-ferrous metals
Equipment for metallurgical plants, mining industry, power
ngineering (including nuclear one)
Chemical products
Different Fe-alloys
Zircon refractories
Food products
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