On November 24, 2010 the first three heats were granulated using UHT's GRANSHOT® method in India. The plant has a capacity to granulate 140 tonnes pig iron heats in less than one hour.

The owner of the plant is ESSAR STEEL in India. In their 10 Mtonnes/year Hazira production complex the GRANSHOT® plant is an important buffering possibility between the pig iron sources, one blast furnace and two Corex® 2000 and the downstream refining and casting processes in the brand new steel making plant.

The produced Granulated Pig Iron (GPI®) is mainly used in the CONARC's to deoxidize the hot heel steel. Surplus GPI® is used as an alternative iron source to HBI or scrap within ESSAR's production or is sold as an easily used and highly reactive merchant pig iron.

Mr Atul Misra, Sr. Vice President responsible for blast furnace, steel making and casting is satisfied with the initial performance of the GRANSHOT® plant. "It allows the blast furnace to produce pig iron with less restrictions from the steel making plant.” says Mr Misra.