The 2nd International Galvanizing Conference was inaugurated by Hon’ble Union Minister of Steel – Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh in Delhi. The conference saw global participation from Zinc and Alloy Industries.

Speaking on the occasion, the CEO of Hindustan Zinc – Sunil Duggal spoke about expanding Zinc market in India and the scope of Zinc in automobile industries, fertilizers, rebars, as a nutrient and towards galvanizing the rail tracks. He spoke about the ancient history of Zinc and India being pioneering country giving Zinc to the world.

Sunil Duggal said “Hindustan Zinc is ready to meet 100% die-casting requirement in India. For meeting 1% of GDP through mining, Indian mining industry needs to grow 27% and Hindustan Zinc at-least 50%. Delhi’s Lotus Temple structure built lasts for 1000 years. HZL has been approached to provide Zinc for Krishna’s temple in Vrindawan, since the focus is on building corrosion free structure.”

The Chief Guest of the Conference, Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh – Hon’ble Union Minister of Steel ensured industries of full support from the government and also how Zinc will play an important role towards building infrastructure for the nation.

He said “Like an ant can kill an elephant, you need Zinc coating to make Steel corrosion free. To achieve long life in bridges, India needs galvanized steel structures. Consumption of Zinc is directly related to Steel market. India needs to grow on the basis of USA’s metal industry. Whatever produced, needs to be consumed. Coastal area structures are prone to corrosion incurring loss of over 1000 crores every year. The structures built on 8000 Km coastal line of India needs to be protected by choosing galvanized bar. Prime Minister – Narendra Modi’s Smart City project will be built on reformed structures that will promote usage of Steel and Zinc. We need to focus on Research & Development and Exploration.”

Mr. Stephen Wilkinson – Executive Director of International Zinc Association said, “Car makers in Europe, North America, Korea and Japan have been using galvanised steel for body panels for decades. These car companies provide anti-corrosion and perforation warranties for a minimum of 10 years. But there is no such protection for most cars made for the Indian consumers. Here, the customers are advised to pay for extra coatings to protect the body of the car after purchase. More than 60% of the cars in India have surface rust which reduces steel strength and the life of the car.”

The CEO of Hindustan Zinc, Sunil Duggal said, “India loses around 4-5% of GDP annually on account of corrosion losses. Western countries, which are far ahead of us in terms of Infrastructure, mandate the use of Galvanizing for the Steel Structures used for bridges, highways, public utility, Airports, Metro Stations, Railways stations, etc. and that is how they are able to preserve long-lasting and robust structures. For instance, Athens Bridge Pennsylvania & Curtis Road Bridge Michigan are structures that utilize Galvanized Steel rebars and have much longer life-span than the conventional bridges built with normal black steel rebar, as galvanized rebar can withstand chloride concentration at least four to five times higher than the black steel rebar and remains passivated at lower pH levels, substantially slowing the rate of corrosion. The country is going through the phase of urbanization and in the upcoming Infrastructure boom, Galvanizing, indeed plays a very important and irreplaceable role.”

The Steel Minister also launches the new product of Hindustan Zinc – ‘HZDA’ (Hindustan Zinc Die-Casting Alloy). The new product was launched as part of inauguration ceremony. The unique product is produced using Primary Zinc and pure aluminium. ‘HZDA’ will cater to the need of the die-casting sector for applications in automobile components, house hold appliances, sanitary-ware and defence. Company will also start production of the Toning Alloy series for consumption in steel galvanizing sector for precise control of aluminium in galvanizing bath.

On the occasion, Sunil Duggal – CEO, HZL also said “The launch of ‘HZDA’ is in line with the support of Prime Minister’s flag-ship program ‘Make in India’ and is expected to replace the imported zinc alloys and to cater to the need of Auto and Steel Industry. Hindustan Zinc is ready to meet 100% die-casting requirement in India.”

The conference would deliberate on various applications of Zinc in the global economy and how Zinc is to play significant role towards improving Global Infrastructure.