The non-oxidising furnace (NOF) technology of Germany will also help increase the CI sheet maker’s efficiency and reduce cost of production, officials said.
The new technology, in addition to the existing continuous galvanising process, will be applied to an extension, construction of which is going on in the 17-acre factory area at Shimrail in Narayanganj.
Once the new technology is introduced, hot roll (HR) coil — the raw material for cold roll (CR) coil — will be cleaned through heat, instead of caustic soda and acid.
Appollo Ispat now imports HR coil, mainly from Japan, and transforms those into CR coil, the raw material for CI sheet.
Also, there will be no need to use lead during the galvanization of the CR coil, said Hasan S Hannan, general manager of Appollo Ispat. “The finished products will be shinier, more durable and environment friendly,” he said.
“We will be able to produce 120 tonnes of CI sheet per line, up from 70-80 tonnes in the existing two lines.” The cost of production will also go down by Tk 2,000 per tonne, Hannan said.
The NOF project will cost Tk 95 crore, of which Tk 60 crore will come from a portion of initial public offering, and sponsor shareholders will contribute to the rest.
Appollo Ispat has recently got a go-ahead from the stockmarket regulator to raise Tk 220 crore by issuing 10 crore ordinary shares of Tk 10 each, in addition to Tk 12 as premium per share.
“From the IPO proceeds, we will spend around Tk 153 crore on loan repayment, Tk 60 crore for the NOF project and the rest to bear the IPO expenses,” said Abdur Rahman, deputy managing director.
With the utilization of the IPO fund, he said, the company’s profitability will go up, helping the management to disburse dividends among shareholders at the year end.
Appollo Ispat produces around 1.20 lakh tonnes of Rani branded CI sheet per year, with a 20 percent market share.
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