In this report on the increase in steel prices, Mr Narendran, NatSteel Holdings' President & CEO, spoke on its impact on the construction industry and on NatSteel itself.

Due to the strong demand for steel, prices have rose but at the same time, raw materials prices are up by twice as much. While steel companies like NatSteel are trying to add capacity as fast as they can, equipment suppliers are not able to provide the machines in the short term. Even with the credit crunch hitting the global economy, demand for steel outstrips supply. This means that the worst is yet to come for the construction industry.

 

NatSteel Asia (NSA) presented a cheque of $53,500 to St Joseph Home (SJH), one of its adopted charities, at its  Family Day recently. It was the second instalment for the purchase of a van for SJH. Staff contributed $26,750 and the amount was matched dollar-for-dollar by the company. NSA staff will use this van to take SJH residents out on a regular basis.

This story was about how the feminine traits of Ms Liu Fang Joo, Senior Vice President for Human Resource and Corporate Communications, add value to the male-populated environment of NatSteel Asia, and how she has leveraged these traits for the betterment of NatSteel Asia.

 

The article featured one of NatSteel Asia's scholars, Mr Chong Pek Hoong, Vice President for Production. He spoke about how he was able to make use of both his management and technical expertise in the organisation, as well as the international exposure he was given.

 

"We chose St. Joseph's Home because they cater to the elderly regardless of race and religion. It also helps that the home is located very near to NatSteel so it facilitates our volunteers going down for activities. [Those plans are] in the pipeline, " said Ms Liu Fang Joo, Senior Vice President for Human Resource and Corporate Comms, NatSteel Asia.

 

NatSteel Asia's Golf Challenge, held in commemoration of Tata Steel's centenary, was featured in Golf Asia's Feb 08 issue. At the post-game dinner, Mr Oo Soon Hee, our current Director (Southeast Asia, announced the launch of our CSR programme, B3, with a pledge of S$1 million over the next three years to community initiatives.

Mr Thachat Viswanath Narendran is the new president and CEO of NatSteel Asia with effect from 1 January 2008, taking over from Mr Oo Soon Hee who is now Director (South East Asia). He was most recently Deputy President for Operations.

Mr Narendran was an executive with Tata Steel's international trading division as well as the marketing & sales division prior to joining NatSteel Asia in May 2005. He has played a key role in the operational integration of Tata Steel and NatSteel Asia. Mr Narendran has also served as president of the Asean Iron & Steel Industry Federation since 2007 and is currently a director of the South East Asia Iron & Steel Institute.