Calcutta, July 13:

MSTC expects a manifold increase in its business based on the e-auction platform. The company, which had a modest start in Internet-based trading three years ago, saw a sudden spurt in business in the first quarter of this financial year. The rise in business volume could be attributed to the tie-up with Coal India Ltd (CIL), which started selling coal for its non-core customers through the MSTC site. MSTC chairman and managing director Malay Sengupta said the company did business of Rs 600 crore in the April-June period compared with Rs 476 crore in the entire 2004-05.

Asked if the fast pace of growth can be maintained throughout the year, Sengupta said it could come down in future. "It should stabilise from this level," he added. Coal accounted for Rs 375 crore of the business in the first quarter. The platform also helped CIL get a better margin for the coal sale. Earlier, Coal India had to sell a lot at a single price point. However, the e-auction can provide different price points for a single lot, thereby achieving higher sales. At present, coal, scrap and some amount of pig iron are traded on this platform. Sengupta said the company was likely to introduce a few more items on this platform.

MSTC is trying to strengthen the portal by joining hands with IBM. "The primary criteria for us is to make the site available for multiple users simultaneously," he said. The site is being equipped to handle 5,000 users at a time. The e-auction platform has brought more transparency in the system, inducing confidence among the participants, Sengupta said.

I know the price of achievements: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen. The statement fits more aptly in the mouth of Malay Sengupta, Chairman & Managing Director, MSTC Limited than any other corporate honchos. A man who has worked unflaggingly for giving MSTC a new direction and meaning is the main force behind the firm's stupendous growth in recent years. A firm believer in team work and maintaining transparency at work place, Sengupta has helped MSTC expand its area of operation from a mere trading house to a greater business player in the Indian domestic market.

Although at its inception stage, Sengupta is responsible for initiating a move to tie up with various manufacturers for marketing their products, especially in the area of iron and steel. Although it may take some time, as Sengupta recently had said, but being a trading house, it's logical conclusion for a corporation like MSTC, which is trying to consolidate its position in the area of logistics. With their corporate office at Kolkata, the MSTC has a wider presence in the Indian market with their four regional offices at New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

It also has branch offices in Visakhapatnam, Vadodara and Bangalore and resident offices at Trichy, Rourkela, Durgapur, Surat and Bhopal. This has certainly given a competitive edge to the company in retaining its lead when it comes to business deliveries. MSTC is the leading importer of scrap in India and as a trading house has diversified itself into importing coke, coal, petroleum products and DR pellets, for which it has a ready market in India. As the corporation's primary business relates to disposal of ferrous scrap and other secondary arisings generated in integrated steel plants, it has some of the prestigious steel plants, manufacturing units as its clients.

And to serve its customers better, the MSTC under Sengupta's leadership was instrumental in giving a fillip to its e-auction, which caters to 10 per cent of its total disposal business and has more than 1,500 customers. It's not surprising that under the visionary leadership of Sengupta, MSTC has grown from strength to strength. Today, MSTC has been able to increase its turnover to about Rs 3,000 crore with greater profit margin. One can rest assured that Sengupta's metallic character will prove to be a great asset for the MSTC.