ERW Galvanized Steel Pipes Plant Project Report

What is a erw galvanized steel pipes project report?

Plant cost in the ERW galvanized steel pipes project report

Our sample report models a plant with one tube mill and its own galvanizing line, rated at 13 metric tonnes (MT) per day, or 4,290 MT per year over 330 working days. It starts at 60% of capacity, reaches 80% in Year 5 and sells at ₹71,800 per MT.

Steel and zinc take 67.4% of sales, so the operating margin is modest: 13.4% in Year 3, with net profit at 5.6% of sales. That is normal for GI pipe, where volume and buying discipline earn the return.

Term loan at 10.5% with a 6-month moratorium and 54 monthly instalments. DSCR (debt service coverage ratio, cash available for each rupee of loan repayment) is lowest at 1.30 in Year 2. All figures are illustrative.

ERW galvanized steel pipes manufacturing process

A GI pipe plant is really two lines in one shed: a tube mill that makes black pipe, and a galvanizing section that coats it. Pipes move between them in bundles on overhead cranes.

1. Slitting the coil

   HR coil is cut on a slitting line into strips whose width matches the circumference of each pipe size.

2. Forming and HF welding

   Forming rolls curl the strip into an open tube, and a high frequency (HF) welder heats and presses the edges into a continuous seam.

3. Sizing and cutting

   Sizing rolls bring the tube to its final outside diameter, the weld bead is trimmed, and a flying saw cuts pipes to length, usually 6 metres.

4. Leak testing

   Each black pipe is hydrostatically or eddy current tested; the BIS test certificate format uses a 5 MPa test pressure.

5. Pickling and fluxing

   Bundles are dipped in dilute acid to strip mill scale, rinsed and then dipped in a zinc ammonium chloride flux so zinc wets the steel evenly.

6. Hot-dip galvanizing

   Pipes go through molten zinc at around 450 °C; steam or air blowing clears surplus zinc from the bore so the coating stays even.

7. Threading and socketing

   For screwed pipes, both ends are threaded and a socket is fitted on one end before the threads are protected.

8. Inspection and marking

   Pipes are checked for size, mass per metre and zinc coating, then marked with the class and ISI mark, bundled and dispatched.

Should you galvanize in-house or start with black pipe?

The biggest set-up decision is whether to build a zinc kettle. A black pipe unit needs only the slitting line, tube mill and testing, so it is cheaper and gets its consents faster. A GI unit adds pickling tanks, a fume scrubber, the kettle and its furnace, but keeps the galvanizing margin and controls coating quality.

The BIS product manual for IS 1239 (Part 1) lets a licensee send pipes out for galvanizing, but only to another BIS licensee, and both units must keep records. Many new promoters start this way and add a kettle once sales are steady.

Two smaller choices also move the numbers. Buying slit strip instead of whole coils saves the slitting line but costs more per tonne. A solid state HF welder costs more than older welders but gives a steadier seam at higher line speeds, which matters when every pipe is pressure tested.

Raw materials for GI pipe manufacturing

Tubes under IS 1239 (Part 1) are made from HR strip to IS 10748 grades or cold rolled strip to IS 513. Zinc is the second input, and its use depends on how much coating each tonne of pipe picks up plus the zinc lost as dross and ash in the kettle.

Raw materials are 67.4% of sales in the sample. The plant holds 30 days of stock.

Machinery for an ERW GI pipe plant

The tube mill with its welder is the most expensive item, at 38% of plant and machinery in the sample. A BIS licensee must also keep its own laboratory, so test equipment is part of the machinery budget, not an extra.

Costs are the sample report's estimates for a 13 MT per day plant. Get current quotations for your size range before you finalise.

Manpower and power for a GI pipe plant

The sample plant employs 49 people across the tube mill, galvanizing, finishing and the lab. Power and fuel cost ₹141.68 lakh in Year 3, about 6.6% of sales, mostly for the HF welder, mill drives and the kettle furnace.

Wages are assumed to rise by 5% a year. A mill roll setter and a galvanizing supervisor are the two hires that most affect output and zinc use.

BIS certification and licences for GI pipes

GI water pipes cannot be sold in India without the ISI mark. Plan the BIS licence, laboratory and pollution consent together, because the plant cannot start commercial sales until all three are in place.

Standards and orders checked on BIS and pollution board documents in October 2026. Confirm the current position with BIS and your State Pollution Control Board before applying.

Who buys ERW galvanized steel pipes?

Most GI pipe goes into water: rural and urban drinking water schemes, house plumbing, and fire fighting lines in buildings and factories. Fencing, scaffolding, greenhouse frames and light structures take a steady share of lighter pipe.

Buyers compare price per metre, the class (light, medium or heavy), zinc coating and the ISI mark. Water supply departments buy through tenders that fix the class and inspection, while dealers want a full range of sizes from 15 to 50 mm bore in stock.

• Pipe, sanitary and hardware dealers
• Public health engineering and water supply departments
• Plumbing and building contractors
• Fire fighting system contractors
• Fencing, scaffolding and structural fabricators

Mistakes that weaken a GI pipe project report

• One price for every class

  Light, medium and heavy pipes sell at different rates per metre. Revenue should follow the planned class and size mix, not a single rate per tonne.

• Counting only the zinc on the pipe

  Kettle dross, ash and blow-off are real zinc losses. A report that prices only the coating weight understates zinc cost.

• No scrap or end-cut allowance

  Slitting edges, weld trim, crop ends and rejected pipes reduce saleable output; scrap is sold at a loss to strip cost.

• Leaving out the BIS lab and licence time

  Without the ISI mark you cannot sell. Sales must wait for the licence, and the lab belongs in the budget.

• Short working capital for dealer credit

  Trade receivables are the largest current asset in our sample. A thin cash credit limit leaves the mill short of coil in Year 1.

How NPCS helps you set up a GI pipe plant

• Size range and class mixChoose pipe sizes, classes and daily output to suit your market and tube mill.
• Black pipe or full GI plantCompare in-house galvanizing with outsourcing, with the cost and margin of each.
• Bank-ready project reportProjections, DSCR, working capital and sensitivity to HR coil and zinc prices.
• BIS, consent and layoutPlant layout, laboratory list and the approvals path for your state.

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Sources and references

1. Steel Tubes (Quality Control) Order, 2020 (S.O. 281(E))Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, via Bureau of Indian Standards, checked Oct 2026
2. Product manual for steel tubes, IS 1239 (Part 1):2004 (July 2021)Bureau of Indian Standards, checked Oct 2026
3. Product manual for steel tubes, IS 1239 (Part 1) (April 2021)Bureau of Indian Standards, checked Oct 2026
4. IS 4736: Hot-dip zinc coatings on mild steel tubes, standard summaryBureau of Indian Standards, checked Oct 2026
5. List of Red category industries (CPCB categorisation)State Pollution Control Board, Odisha, checked Oct 2026