TISCO - The World's Most Cost-Effective Steel Plant

By April 2001, TISCO had emerged as the world's lowest cost producer of steel. TISCO's operating cost at the 'hot metal' (liquid) stage was $75 per tonne. The company's cost per tonne of finished steel stood at $152 for the financial year ending March 2001.

The World Steel Dynamics (WSD)⁶, in a report stated, "Tata Steel is a 'world class' steel maker - the only in India - and one of the few companies in the world with such a standing. This view point is based on a variety of reasons such as low operating costs, special company culture, good profitability, etc." WSD identified 12 companies as World Class Steel Makers, and ranked them based on certain factors⁷ (Refer Table I). Analysts felt that TISCO's achievement of becoming the lowest cost producer of steel was mostly attributed to its implementation of TOP (Total Operational Performance), a program that focused on improving TISCO's operational practices and rationalizing procurement costs.