§1What this business is
Billets and re-rollable scrap are cut to size on a shearing machine, heated to about 1,100°C in a coal-fired furnace and passed through a train of rolling stands that reduce them step by step; the grooves on the last rolls give the final shape. For tor steel the bars are rolled with ribs and then twisted cold on a twisting machine. Finished bars cool on a cooling bed and are cropped to length. Buyers are builders, contractors and government works for houses, hospitals, dams and bridges.
Capacity: 3,660 MT of rolled products and 100 MT of scrap a year, worth ₹5.68 crore. Rounds and tor steel up to 25 mm.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
An established steel trader or industrialist with capital, a good power connection and access to billets.
Who it is not for
A small first-time founder — this is a ₹2 crore plant with 60 workers even at 2003 prices.
Advantages
- Construction steel is always in demand
- The profile notes rolled products sell on cash terms
- Uses scrap as well as billets
- Large employer in its area
Drawbacks
- Very large investment and working capital
- Thin margin — under 7% of sales
- Coal-fired furnace needs a tall stack and pollution clearance
- Cold-twisted tor steel has largely given way to TMT bars, so the product mix may need upgrading
Skills you need
- Roll pass design and roll changing
- Furnace heating control
- Steel grades and testing
- Buying billets and scrap well
Why difficulty 5/5: Heavy capital, many workers, hot-rolling safety and compulsory BIS certification.
§3Market
Who buys
- Building contractors and builders
- Government construction works
- Steel traders and hardware dealers
- Fabricators
How it sells
- Sale through steel stockists
- Direct supply to contractors
Good to know
- The profile says demand from housing, dams, bridges and public buildings keeps rising.
- It sees a gap between demand and supply, shown by sales on hard cash.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 230 mm rolling mill set: 7 mill stands, pinion stand, couplings, flywheel, reduction gear and one set of rolls | 1 | ₹31,22,000 |
| Coal-fired reheating furnace, 13 × 2.75 × 2 m | 1 | ₹7,10,000 |
| Cooling bed, 13 × 2 m | 1 | ₹1,17,000 |
| Shearing machine, 37 mm, 20 HP | 1 | ₹2,20,000 |
| Cropping machine, 12.5–25 mm, 10 HP | 1 | ₹80,000 |
| Twisting machines for tor steel (one up to 16 mm, two up to 25 mm) | 3 | — |
| Workshop machines: heavy lathe, shaper, pillar drill, grinder, welding set | 1 lot | — |
| 500 kVA step-down transformer with distribution and cables | 1 | — |
From: DC-MSME project profile — M.S. Rounds, Angles, Channels, Tor Steel etc. (2003)
- Steel billets200 MT a month at ₹12,000 a MT in the profile
- Re-rollable scrap120 MT a month at ₹10,000 a MT in the profile
- Steam coal for the furnace30 MT a month in the profile
- Refractories, lubricants and rolls
From: DC-MSME project profile — M.S. Rounds, Angles, Channels, Tor Steel etc. (2003)
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST
- State Pollution Control Board consent to establish and operate
- Factory licence under the Factories Act
- BIS certification under the steel Quality Control Order (for example IS 1786 bars, IS 2062 structural sections)
- High-tension power connection approval
§6Schemes & subsidies
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
Far above the PMEGP limit; CGTMSE covers part of the loan without collateral, and Stand-Up India suits SC/ST or women founders.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: DC-MSME profile (SISI Kolkata, Jan 2003): land and building ₹30.00 L (2,000 sq m land ₹6 L, sheds and office ₹24 L) + machinery ₹64.96 L + pre-operative ₹4.06 L = fixed capital ₹99.02 L, plus working capital for 3 months ₹122.51 L = ₹221.52 L.
Working capital: Working capital is ₹122.51 L for 3 months — billets (200 MT a month at ₹12,000) and re-rollable scrap (120 MT at ₹10,000) are the bulk. The profile notes rolled products sell for cash.
Prices from 2003 — machinery, raw material and wage costs will be much higher now.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: EEPC India
- The profile prints no HS code; confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or a customs broker.
- The trade is mostly local; bars are heavy and cheap to make near the buyer.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Steel price swings
- Competition from large integrated plants
- BIS mandatory certification for reinforcement and structural steel
- Accidents around hot rolling
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working steel re-rolling mill (ms rounds, angles, channels, tor steel) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Steel Re-Rolling Mill (MS Rounds, Angles, Channels, Tor Steel)?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.