SSAB inaugurated a steel processing facility in Taloja on 18 March, marking an expansion of its downstream operations in India. The unit is designed to support value-added processing of high-strength steel and supply ready-to-assemble components to domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
The Taloja unit is structured as a downstream processing centre rather than a steel production facility, with crude steel produced at SSAB’s plants in Sweden, Finland, and the United States. The investment reflects a shift in the company’s India operations from supplying raw steel plates to delivering pre-cut and pre-bent components.
The facility includes a 100,000 square foot warehouse and processing area integrated under a single roof. It maintains an inventory of more than 10,000 tonnes of steel plates and is equipped with advanced fibre laser cutting and CNC bending systems calibrated for high-strength grades such as Hardox and Strenx.
The plant is fitted with an Accurpress CNC press brake for bending high-tonnage steel plates and a Penta fibre laser system capable of cutting thicker steel plates. The equipment is designed to enable continuous operations through exchange table systems that allow simultaneous loading and cutting processes.
“Our new Service Center in Mumbai is designed to support customers with ready-made kits for transport equipment such as tippers and lifting booms,” said Subodh Shinde, Country Head, India. “By combining SSAB’s premium steels with precision processing and technical expertise, we aim to simplify manufacturing and help our customers achieve higher productivity and performance.”
Hardox wear plate is designed for abrasion resistance in applications such as tippers and rock bodies, while Strenx performance steel is used in structural applications including trailers, cranes, and lifting booms.
The facility is intended to support Indian manufacturers of transport, construction, and lifting equipment by providing ready-to-assemble components.
The centre focuses on supplying precision-processed components and ready-to-assemble kits for applications such as box and rock body tippers, tipping trailers, and booms for lifting equipment, reducing the need for OEMs to undertake cutting and welding of high-strength steel. The site also includes specialised fabrication capabilities designed to process steel grades such as Hardox 500 without causing heat-affected zones, preserving material properties.
In addition, the facility includes a technical support space for customers to test welding and machining parameters before full-scale production. The expansion has been accompanied by workforce additions, including site management and environment, health and safety roles to support increased production activity.
SSAB is a Sweden-based steel manufacturer specialising in high-strength steel products, with production operations in Europe and North America and downstream processing facilities in multiple markets. SSAB supplies Hardox wear plate, wear parts, and Strenx performance steel in India through authorised channels, including direct supply from local stocks or mills, a sole authorised distributor, and a network of more than 20 Hardox Wearparts centres across the country.
