Reports indicate that the growing demand for high quality steel in India is leading to investments in improved production facilities. One example of this was illustrated by Voith Turbo's announcement that it has been contracted to supply Indian steel producer Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. in Angul with two universal joint shafts from the combined H/CW seres, as well as a torque measurement system.

According to Voith Turbo's press release, the universal joint shaft are among the strongest and largest that Voith Turbo currently produces and are being used in a new heavy plate mill at Siemens VAI in England.

Guido Christ, sales manager for universal joint shafts at Voith Turbo says, "The Indian steel market has been slumbering for almost 40 years. All this has now changed. For three years, per capita steel consumption has been increasing constantly and this is influencing  the demand for universal joint shafts for steel production.

After growth of 7.5%, steel capacity was around 44 million tons last year. Economic researchers expect production of raw steel to continue its growth at a rate of 6% annually. The Indian Steel Ministry estimates its export rate will increase from 15-24% in the next 15 years.

The two H Series universal shafts that Voith is supplying to Jindal Steel & Power each weight 60 tons and are designed for heavy load requirements. They drive the working rolls with a diameter of 1,100 millimeters in the new heavy plate mill at Siemens VAI. This rolls the steel slabs into plates up to 200 mm thick. The heavy plate mill in Angul is designed for a maximum slab width of 5 meters, currently the standard width. According to Voith, approximately 1.5 million tons of steel pass through a heavy plate mill every year and the slabs are becoming increasingly large.

Working rolls that can be moved axially ensure the uniformity of plates. The new universal joint shafts, slated for delivery to India next year, feature improved bearing embedding. Flange dimensions optimally adapted for the flow of forces and reinforced journal crosses increase the torque capacity. To transmit extreme torques, the bearing bore on all Voith joint shafts has a jointless design.

A torque measurement system from Voith's subsidiary ACIDA will also be installed in India to monitor the functioning of universal joint shaft.

The new heavy plate mill will be installed at the steel works in Angul, in the neighboring state of Orissa. JSPL plans to increase its raw steel capacity by three million tons by 2008.