Ambitious expansion launches Venus Pipes & Tubes on global market

Venus Pipes & Tubes was founded in December 2015 by four partners who had the vision of providing top-quality stainless steel products to their clients. Each partner has a different background and brings unique expertise to the company. Mr. Arun Kothari (Managing Director and CFO) is a qualified Chartered Accountant. The cousins Mr. Mahesh Chaudhary and Mr. Jitendra Chaudhary each have more than twenty-five years of experience in trading tubular products, while Mr. Dhruv Patel (Director of Marketing) has a background in engineering.
“We had all had reached a point in our careers where we were searching for a new opportunity,” explains Mr. Patel. “The idea to start manufacturing stainless steel pipes and tubes arose when we realised that there were very few players in this sector in India. We already had a substantial client base in the domestic market, and we knew this was a sector with great potential in which we could make a name for ourselves.”

Rapid growth

The company’s initial monthly capacity was 200 metric tonnes (MT), which grew to 1000 MT per month by 2020. Increasing output by a factor of five within five years meant the Venus facility was working at almost maximum capacity, and expansion was essential.
“Last year, we decided the time was ripe to expand the business significantly. To raise funds and attract investors, we decided to go public and list the company on the Indian stock exchange. Our Initial Public Offering (IPO) was fully subscribed within eighty minutes of opening, setting a new record,” smiles Mr. Kothari.
A recent company valuation in the second half of 2022 placed the value of Venus Pipes & Tubes at over USD 125 million.

Increase in production capacity

The substantial investments in cutting-edge technology will see Venus Pipes & Tubes increase production capacity dramatically. With a focus on austenitic stainless steel, duplex and super duplex, it is focused on supplying quality products to the market.

“By March 2023 Venus will have an annual
capacity of 36,000 metric tonnes”

“We are aiming to reach a yearly production of around 24,000 MT by December 2022, and this will increase to 36,000 MT by March 2023,” explains Mr. Patel. “The Hot Piercing Mill was ordered in October 2021 and will arrive shortly. The large diameter 20” tube mill was ordered in Q1/2022, and the other equipment is underway.” To keep the rapidly growing plant supplied with raw materials, the Venus team has developed a strategy to ensure a smooth, uninterrupted supply.
“To guarantee delivery of high-quality products, we purchase raw material from top-notch vendors of international repute. At the moment, we are using mother hollows out of third party production. However, once our vertical Hot Piercing Mill comes online, our dependency on imports will end as we start manufacturing mother hollows in-house.”
“For welded tubes and pipes, we source raw materials such as stainless steel coils locally or from a range of international reputable manufacturers For our range of seamless pipes, we require a stable supply of stainless steel round bars, which are widely to insure 100% origin of goods by Made in India.”

Strong focus on quality

Producing quality products requires much more than just modern equipment, and Mr. Patel is keen to highlight the company’s investments in people and expertise.
“At Venus, quality is a high priority and the foundation of all our processes and operations. We are committed to consistently achieving the highest quality standards in our products and services, aiming to satisfy and even exceed our customers’ requirements and expectations. This goes for every area of our business.” Manufacturing is carried out under strict process control and monitored all the way through the production process to ensure total conformity to requisite specifications. Every piece of pipe or tube is subjected to a detailed inspection and testing by trained and experienced staff to detect dimensional inaccuracies and surface imperfections and ensure its conformity with applicable standards.
“Our extensive in-house testing facilities allow us to perform all mandatory tests on-site and any supplementary testing required by various standards. These range from hydro-static tests and Eddy Current tests, to mechanical and chemical testing.”
As the company expands, this clear focus has been maintained on quality, with fifteen percent of the company’s total workforce being employed in the quality department.
“This proportion will remain the same as we continue to expand. We currently employ around 350 people, and this number will increase to over 650 by mid-2023. We are already recruiting more qualified staff and don’t expect to have any problems finding the expertise we will need to drive our future success.”

Export plans with 100% Made in India

Venus Pipes & Tubes currently supplies the majority of its products to the local Indian market. It’s capabilities and accreditations have enabled the company to supply products to 54 Fortune India 500 companies. The company is now seeking to expand its partnerships across the globe with strategic alliances with reputable suppliers and distributors.

“We tell customers: you
name it, we have it.”

“Our focus as the company expands is to increase exports to the global market. Our target clients are distributors, stockists and traders in all regions. We look forward to expanding our presence in the global market, particularly in Europe, where we seek to develop lasting relationships with reputable business partners.”

One-stop solution for stainless tubes and pipes

The company aims to enter the European market with a ready supply of tubes and pipes ranging from 6 mm to 1422mm in diameter.
“This is a uniquely wide range of sizes to be offering,” explains Mr. Patel. “Ultimately, we want to become a one-stop solution for our customer’s piping needs. These may range from seamless to welded pipes, from huge to small diameters. Ultimately these will end up in applications ranging from instrumentation tubing to heat exchangers, from petrochemical plants to the oil and gas industries. We tell customers: you name it, we have it”.