What specific benefits did you hope to capture by integrating Tata Steels international business unit with Tata International?
Deoras: This division of Tata Steel was selling about 10-15 per cent of its production internationally. The potential was immense. We approached them to combine our international network and expertise with their business knowledge. This has widened our canvas and brought economies of scale to their operations. Mukerji: As a unit of Tata Steel, our basic strategy was to first capture the value in the neighbouring markets, because our competitive position vis–vis our geography is strong. Though we were present in large markets such as China and the US, our volumes were small and our focus was restricted. After the integration, the sky was the limit. Our trading activities broadened and deepened considerably. We turned into a one-stop shop and a trading house with some volumes. Global networking is very crucial in our business. That was Tata Internationals core strength. Today we have expanded our network to twice its size in just three years. Also there was a fair amount of consolidatio
