Steel is a key component for a country’s progress and Indian Railways being the most cost-effective medium to promote a product, Vizag Steel has chosen to promote its brand image through Samta Express, said Chaudhary Birender Singh, Union Minister of Steel while flagging off the train along with Shri Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Railways.Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Railways and Chaudhary Birender Singh, Minister of Steel together flagged off the daily Hazrat Nizamuddin – Visakhapatnam, Samta Express, now renamed as Vizag Steel Samta Express at Nizamuddin station in New Delhi today. The Vizag Steel Samta Express has been emblazoned with eye-catching Vizag Steel promotional visuals across its entire length.Commending Vizag Steel for taking proactive steps to counter the downtrend in the prevailing scenario by effectively channelling its marketing efforts with a structured brand promotion activity, Shri Birender Singh informed that undertaking such initiatives would not only help Vizag Steel extend its market reach to both urban and rural markets, but would also go a long way in increasing the nation’s per capita steel consumption from 61 kg to the global level of 208 kg, as envisaged by the Steel Ministry.
Vizag Steel is the brand name of the Public Sector Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) with an annual capacity of 6.3 Million tonnes (Mt) of long steel products for consumption of the domestic market and is one of the leading domestic long steel producers, supplying wire-rods, re-bars, structural, squares, rounds etc. catering to construction, infrastructure sectors of the Indian Economy. VIZAG steel, known for its quality and operational efficiencies, is the first integrated steel plant to be certified for Quality, Health, Safety and Environment.Speaking on the occasion Shri Prabhu said that other Public Sector enterprises should also avail the benefits of promotion of their products through Indian Railways with a vast reach, unmatched to any other medium.While welcoming the august gathering, P Madhusudan, CMD RINL said that Steel and Indian Railways have a symbiotic relationship. Steel Industry depends heavily on Railways for transportation of its raw material and finished steel products and in turn Steel Plants supplies steel materials for track, rolling stocks, bridges, stations etc. RINL is also in the process of taking up manufacture of import substitution products for Railways in line with government’s initiative of “Make in India”.