The London-based L N Mittal group is the 2nd largest steel producer in the world with crude steel output of 34.8 million tonne in the year 2002, according to the International Iron and Steel Institute.

This is against the 27 million tonne of crude steel produced in India. European major Arcelor remains the largest producer with an annual steel production of 44 million tonne.

The LN Mittal group, which was ranked fourth in 2001, catapulted to the 2nd position leaving behind Nippon Steel of Japan (29.8 million tonne) and Korea's Posco (28.1 million tonne) in the third and fourth positions, respectively.

The Mittal group has achieved a growth of around 80 per cent compared with the previous year's annual output of 19.2 million tonne.

"The rapid growth has been achieved through improving operational efficiency at existing companies and through acquisitions," the company said in a press release.

The group's recent acquisitions include Ispat Sidex in Romania (acquired in November 2001), the largest steel producer in central and eastern Europe; Ispat Annaba in Algeria (October 2001), a major steel producer in Algeria; a 47 per cent stake in Iscor, South Africa's largest steel producer and recently the privatisation of Ispat Nova Hut in The Czech Republic (January 2003).

The L N Mittal group has integrated steel making facilities in 12 countries across the globe with estimated revenues of around $12 billion in 2003.

The group, including LNM Holdings NV and Ispat International NV, has close to 1.2 lakh employees worldwide.