SPOKEN – Episode 6
In this episode of SPOKEN, hear from Dak Patel, CEO of LIBERTY Steel’s manufacturing, distribution and recycling business ‘InfraBuild’ and President of LIBERTY Steel Australia and USA, learn about Aussie Rules and catch up on the latest from our Executive Chairman, Sanjeev Gupta.
Listener Competition – WIN A SET OF HEADPHONES – SPOKEN Episode 6

This is your chance to win a pair of Powerbeats High-Performance Wireless Earphones, on which to listen to future episodes of Spoken, the podcast for GFG Alliance colleagues across the world. Listen to SPOKEN episode 6 to find the answer to the question below:

In his interview with Justine Greene, Port Adelaide team captain, Tom Jonas, described Australian Rules Football as being like what other game?

In addition to the Wireless Earphones one lucky winner, drawn at random, will also receive some Port Adelaide merchandise. Read the competition Terms & Conditions.

Listener competition – Terms and Conditions

  1. Entry to this competition is only open to employees of a GFG Alliance business.
  2. Only one entry per employee is permitted.
  3. To be added into the draw your answer needs to be correct.
  4. Entry must be by email to spoken@gfgalliance.com and be received no later than Friday 2 October 2020.
  5. Entries must include:
    • The employee’s answer to the question
    • The employee’s: Full name, Business Unit and site address. An email address and contact telephone number.

The winner will be drawn at random from all correct entries received by the closing date. There will be no cash alternative. The winner will be notified by email.

Show Transcript:

JUSTINE GREENE: Hello and welcome to ‘Spoken’ – the podcast for GFG Alliance colleagues across the world. I’m Justine Greene and this time we’ll be meeting Dak Patel from GFG’s leadership team, plus we’ll have more on the ‘I am Here’ programme with the help of Aussie Rules Football. First, of course, on the line, Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Chairman of the GFG Alliance, hello again Sanjeev, how are you?

SANJEEV GUPTA: Hi Justine, I’m very well, thank you.

JUSTINE: Now Sanjeev, we like to catch up with what you’ve been doing outside of the business, what’s been going on?

SANJEEV: Since the last few weeks, I would not call it normal because I think this is far from normal, and I wonder whether it’ll ever be back to what it was, but still.
There is a new normal, if you like, we have got used to precautions, we’ve got used to certain ways of moving about. And I’m certainly moving about quite a bit, within Europe, within the restrictions and within the rules permitted. So, I’ve actually been focusing, really much, much more on work. I moved to London, kids have started school again in London, so, you know we’ve spent a lovely few months in Wales in our country house there, but now we’re in London and life is much more in a relative normality in terms of all the work priorities and all the schedules of the day. So, yeah, I mean I’ve basically been running around Europe and I’ll continue to do so for the next few weeks.

JUSTINE: Now, last time you said you were expecting a busy few weeks and that certainly appears to have been the case, as we have some big business developments to talk about. First, acquisitions in France Sanjeev… what’s been happening there…

SANJEEV: We, for a long time, have been looking at the two plants. One is an Electric Arc Furnace which is probably one of the best Electric Arc Furnaces I’ve seen in the world, it’s state of the art plant and allied to this, although not previously, but in our plan, allied to this is the French rail business. So it’s again, one of the best rail plants in the world. So, these two plants, the objective is to marry them so that the billets or the blooms, rather, will come from Ascot Vale, which is the Electric Arc Furnace instead of coming from the UK, from British Steel. Greensteel is going to make green rail, it’s going to make recycled steel, going into the rail production will supply all of the French and the Swiss rail system.

JUSTINE: OK and I understand there’s also news from Tasmania…

SANJEEV: Yes, again the transactions a long time in the making. Tasmania has a ferromanganese plant, which was previously, originally BHP, then South32, and is non-core to them, but for us it’s perfect, it’s backward integration for us, sort of, this is one of the key raw materials which is missing in our supply chain, in terms of our own ownership. And on top of that, of course, Tasmania’s 100% hydro-fed, so it basically furthers our greensteel ambitions as well.

JUSTINE: So, Sanjeev, some people might question these investments at a time when you’re asking for savings across the business?

SANJEEV: Indeed, that’s a good question. So, first of all, of course, these transactions are probably over a year in the making. But more importantly, the point is that we continue to be a company that is dynamic and is going to grow. I mentioned previously, as well, that actually instead of cutting back on our plans for expansion or investments in Greensteel, we’re actually going to double down on them. So we see clear opportunity in these plants, they are accretive to the rest of the group, they really add value. The plant TEMCO will plug one hole we have in our supply chain, in terms of a key raw material, both for our other plants in Australia, and indeed, all our plants globally. The French Electric Arc Furnace and the rail business gives us a real entry into the greensteel business, in France. France is a very important country for us as a group, it’s the headquarters of our aluminum business, but we were missing a steel business within that, and you know, it’s a great acquisition. So, these are very good deals for the group, they really add value and take us further. But in the meantime, at the same time, we’re taking– you know, we’ve taken our course correction measures across the group. I’m very proud of every part of the group, there is real progress in terms of how we found great savings, better operations, better productivity, and they’re all bearing fruit as well. So, you know, from both sides I’m really happy with the progress we’re making.

JUSTINE: OK, thanks, for now, Sanjeev, do stay with us for questions from your colleagues, and we’ll meet our first guest next. Joining us now from Sydney, Australia is Dak Patel, CEO of LIBERTY Steel’s manufacturing, distribution and recycling business ‘InfraBuild’ and President of Liberty Steel Australia and USA, hello Dak…

DAK PATEL: Hello, Justine, how are you?

JUSTINE: Very well, thank you Dak. Now, you’ve extensive experience in the steel industry, tell us a bit about yourself…….

DAK: I come from a family business background, very similar to what Sanjeev has experienced, we all have grown up in our family businesses, and I started a steel business here in Australia some twenty years ago, and that has been my journey. And, obviously, coming out of that industry and hoping to do something different, and this is where I am today. From one steel industry to another steel industry!

JUSTINE: And what do your roles and responsibilities in GFG encompass?

DAK: Primarily, InfraBuild, as you know, InfraBuild is a vertically integrated steel manufacturing business right from scrap to Electric Arc Furnace, and that feeds into our downstream distribution business, which is reinforcing steel processing bar shops, as well as steel long products distribution footprint, throughout Australia, and apart from that, more recently, on Sanjeev’s insistence and kind trust, I must say, I have taken additional responsibility as the president of LIBERTY Steel Group, responsible for Australia and US. And, by virtue of that, also sit in the LIBERTY Steel Group’s global board, yeah.

JUSTINE: Well, congratulations. Dak, we’ve spoken with Sanjeev about economising across the business. In practice, what’s your thinking about making savings?

DAK: In the steel industry, traditionally the margins are not very large, and efficiencies and productivity plays a very important part in your competitiveness. Because we are in the commodity market, prices are set by the global benchmarks. If we need to become good, and from good to better and better to great, one has to actually embark on the efficiency gain journey, and improve productivity on a continuous basis. So, it is a journey that we have begun earnestly, and we hope to make step changes as we progress, over the next few years.

JUSTINE: So in Australia then, can you give any insight into how you are making changes?

DAK: It has been very detailed processes involved, in terms of analysing, understanding of our existing business practices, and then understanding where we want to be and determining how we can get there, through choosing various changes that are required to make. That means restructuring our business, consolidating our branch operations in places where one can be better than two, for example. And also, looking at how do we get to our customer in the shortest possible time and in the most effective way. That is putting it very simplistically, but generally, that’s the sort of thought process that is going through our minds at the moment.

JUSTINE: OK, Dak, good to talk to you, thanks very much for joining us…

DAK: It has been an absolute pleasure talking to you as well, Justine, and thank you very much for taking the time out to hear my thoughts.

JUSTINE: Pleasure to have you on here. Now, next – what do Aussie rules football and ‘I am Here’ have in common. On our last edition we spoke to a former Captain of the Irish Women’s rugby team about GFG’s ‘I Am Here’ programme – building awareness and a community around mental health and wellbeing. This time our guest is from the sport of Aussie rules football – Tom Jonas, captain of Port Adelaide football club. Hello Tom…

TOM JONAS: Hi, Justine, how are you today?

JUSTINE: Good, thank you. Now, first, there’s a connection between GFG and your club, tell us more…

TOM: GFG signed on as a major sponsor with Port Adelaide in 2019, and together with GFG we’ve rolled out some great programmes. We’re able to actually play a game of Aussie Rules football in the west of South Australia, out in the country where GFG’s steel mill actually works. So, we played a game there which was hosted by GFG, it wouldn’t have been possible without them, and while we were there, we also went and looked at the steelworks, the mill, we visited all of the local schools and hospitals and aged care facilities, so I think together with GFG, we’ve been able to do some great work.

JUSTINE: Now, for GFG colleagues outside of Australia, give us a quick guide to Aussie rules football…

TOM: We use an oval-shaped footy, it’s like a rugby ball. We play on an oval, so like cricket, and the closest comparison I could actually think, was [redacted – please see details about our competition] but everyone runs everywhere, it’s carnage. You can tackle people, there are thirty-six people on the field at any one time. So eighteen from each team. And basically, if you kick it through the big sticks in the middle, you get six points and if you miss to either side of that you get one point. And after that, I just have to say, go on YouTube or tune in and watch a game, because it’s the most unique, ridiculous sport you’ve ever seen.

JUSTINE: Well, you’ve certainly sold it to me, I want to go and see a match now. Now, I mentioned ‘I am Here’ because many people have faced mental health and wellbeing concerns during the pandemic. How have you and the Port Adelaide team been managing those sorts of challenges?

TOM: First and foremost, we just try and build a great culture where people want to be a part of it and want to be involved in. We’re in a high-pressure environment, where you’re scrutinised a lot by the public, so that causes some stress. But also, you’re dealing with young men. We have kids on our list that are only eighteen years of age, and we’re highly susceptible to mental health stresses, and it’s really important we support them. But the best way to do that is just to be, you know, really open, have great conversations and make people comfortable in their environment so they can do that. So, we’ve got staff and programmes in place that it’s their role to be available for that. But also, as a leader of the team, you just want to build really strong relationships, you want to show vulnerability, and show empathy. So that, you know, if someone is doing it tough, they feel comfortable in being able to come and speak to you. And if they’re not comfortable speaking to me, there’s plenty of other senior players and coaches and management personal around. So, if they are in a tough spot, they can come and talk to someone and we’ll work through it from there.

JUSTINE: Finally, Tom, your club has a successful track record going back many years – but how have you been doing in 2020?

TOM: We’re actually sitting at the top of the table right now, so we’re going very well. Obviously there’s still a lot of work to be done, we play like a knock-out final series, which culminates in a grand final. So, we haven’t played in one of those for a little while, and that’s our aim. It would be very nice if Sanjeev could make it over because I think we’ve got a 100% success rate with him at our game. So, we’re going pretty well, but just to be sure of it, if we can get Sanjeev over to the grand final you’d almost lock us in as a guarantee. So we’re going alright, I don’t want to put the mockers on us, so I’ll just leave it at that.

JUSTINE: You want him as your good luck charm. Alright, Tom – thanks for joining us and good luck with the rest of the year…

TOM: No worries, thank you for having me on.

JUSTINE: Well, staying in Port Adelaide, let’s hear now from one GFG ‘I am Here’ ambassador – given just a minute to tell us why they chose to join the I Am Here programme…

GINA MARCHETTI: This is Gina Marchetti, from Port Adelaide. I Am Here programme touched me on a personal level for a couple of things. The first part of it is I’ve had some personal dealings with some issues around mental health. One is my daughter, who suffered bulimia and body image issues from a young age. The other personal impact it had on me is, about three years ago now, a friend of mine lost her husband through suicide. And when we have a look at what was happening in his life at the time, there wasn’t anybody there to really show the caring and humanistic approach to what he was going through. And it was indirectly related to stress at his workplace. So, for those two reasons, when I saw the programme it really touched me on a humanistic level, and I thought it would be beneficial to use my experience for the benefit of everybody that works for GFG and for InfraBuild in Australia.

JUSTINE: Thank you to Gina Marchetti there telling us why she became a GFG ‘I am Here ambassador’. OK moving on, coming next, we have your questions for Sanjeev. On every podcast, we give you the chance to speak directly to Sanjeev and ask a question. Sanjeev is still with us, so let’s get a question now.

AUROI BIRAM: Hi Sanjeev, this is Auroi Biram from LIBERTY Dubai. You started your journey in the commodities trading world and having been along your side for part of the journey, can you tell us what made you move from trading to wanting to create a global industrial business employing 35,000 people that we see today? And where do you see it in 10 years time?

SANJEEV: Auroi, Hello. First of all, I was born with steel almost in my blood. You know, my grandfather was in steel, my father was in steel, my brothers are in steel. All in the steel industry. So it has always been an ambition or a desire to get back into manufacturing. And, then, of course, you’ll remember in the UK when we had the steel crisis in 2014/15, we saw a clear opportunity for a new business model, that business model has now become famous globally, it’s become not famous just for LIBERTY but actually for the industry which is very quickly moving towards it as they embraced it– Now, as they embrace it as we did back in those years.

Which is our green steel model, the point about the UK industry being that there is an abundance of steel scrap, yet we import iron ore and coal and make steel expensively in all the plants which are outdated, and we’re not able to compete. And at the same time, we’re polluting the planet as well. A much better model, which was basically making steel using steel scrap, and using Electric Arc Furnaces, we adopted, it was difficult in the beginning, there was a lot of cynicism and critics on that model, but now that model’s become mainstay for everybody. And we will continue to be the leaders in green steel.

JUSTINE: And Sanjeev, I think Auroi was quite keen to find out where the business will be in ten years time?

SANJEEV: That ten years happens to be exactly 2030, which is the CN30 mission. So in ten years time, we will be carbon neutral, as a group. All parts of our group put together, we will be carbon neutral. Which means we will have converted all our blast furnaces to DRI plants, we would have made great headways on hydrogen, we would have made great headways in new electric arc furnaces in many places around the world, we will have, I’m sure, grown our steel business further, as I was saying earlier, there is consolidation to be had. And again, all of those will be on the green journey as well. So, we are already one of the leading green steel companies in the world, I would definitely want to build on that further, and keep that position, in fact, grow on that position, and lead our industry from the past to the future, which is basically from carbon to things like hydrogen.

JUSTINE: Thanks, Sanjeev, and thanks for that Auroi question. Here’s another question for you Sanjeev.

STUART ALLAN: Hi Sanjeev, Stuart Allan at Shand cycles in Scotland. It’s great to see that the bicycle wheel features in GFG’s branding. How did the connections to bicycles all began for you and the business?

SANJEEV: That’s a lovely question. First of all, many people who know me now, that I actually started my life in business selling bicycles, literally. In Turkey, in the market called Sirkhazi. My father and his brothers used to make bicycles in India, they were one of the first pioneers in the bicycle industry in India, and I was given the task, between my– In my gap year, between A-Levels and Cambridge, to go and conquer the Turkish market for bicycles. So that’s what I did for a year, and I liked it so much I actually did it for two years and took two gap years, before I went to uni. And that was my first experience, my first love, you can call it. And it has stayed with me since. And hence, actually, that led eventually to the purchase of Shand in our family office, which you’re proudly a part of, as you know, a sort of a comeback to the beginning. So, that’s one fundamental reason. But also, I think, it’s a great symbolism also of all our different businesses, different countries, different people, they’re all spokes which get together. So I think it’s a great symbolism for us, and also it obviously connects with our heritage.

JUSTINE: And do you cycle, Sanjeev? Have you been out on a bike during lockdown?

SANJEEV: So, I have two bicycles, which were kindly delivered to me by Shand, top of the range, and I am ashamed to say I haven’t actually got out on either of them. One is now in London, and one in Wales. But I have been cycling in the gym on whatever that’s called, where you stick the cycle on the spinning thing. So I’ve been exercising on bicycles, but I haven’t actually managed to get out in the open. So, I won’t lie. But it’s definitely one of my ambitions, top of the list.

JUSTINE: Well, many thanks for those questions. If you’d like to get in touch with us with a question for Sanjeev or a comment about the podcast just drop us an email to spoken@gfgalliance.com, that’s spoken@gfgalliance.com.

Sanjeev, let’s end with a quick glimpse at your diary – how’s the rest of the month looking for you?

SANJEEV: I’m in London, as I was saying, I definitely intend to get out to France, to the plants. We are in the process of completing on them as soon as we do, I would love to go and meet my new employees, my new members of my family, so I’m very much looking forward to that. Beyond that, I’m basically London, let’s say anchored, for the time being. It’s reasonably possible and, you know, doable within– With safety to travel within Europe, so I probably will be going around Europe quite a bit. Beyond that, it’s quite tough, so I would love to get to Australia, out to India, to many places around the world where I haven’t been for quite some time, which I’m desperate to do. But those look a bit more distant in the future, unfortunately, with all the restrictions that exist. So, yeah, London based, travelling in and around Europe with London as my anchor.

JUSTINE: Well, Sanjeev, thanks very much for joining us, look forward to speaking soon.

SANJEEV: Thank you, take care.

JUSTINE: That’s it for now, but do join us next time, and tell your friends in the business to listen in too. We’ll have more news and comment from across GFG on our next edition. Until then from me Justine Greene, Sanjeev Gupta and all our guests, it’s goodbye.

2 Comments

    • Grigore Raluca
    • 14 September, 2020

    The football is described as being like – Rugby

    Reply
    • Chris Boddington
    • 23 September, 2020

    The closest comparison he can think of is it’s like quiditch!

    Reply

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SPOKEN – Episode 6