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Since last few years, Asia has always been the leader in world steel consumption with around half of the World steel demand generated in Asian markets. The Asian region comprises of developing countries like India, China, Middle East, SE Asian countries, some CIS countries etc. where infrastructural development is on the forefront of the agenda. The other steel consuming sectors like auto, white goods etc. also view Asia as the fastest growing market, thus further strengthening steel demand. All this makes Asia the most favored destination for not only to steel makers but to all the allied sectors like technology providers, equipment manufacturers, raw material suppliers etc.

Today, China is the trigger of the global steel trade and any change in Chinese industry perspective will make a major impact on international iron & steel trade. Today steel prices seem to be stable but surely not settled. Some analysts attribute this to slowing down of Chinese demand. Even European steel mills have taken a cautious approach. On the other hand, many mills in Indian sub-continent and gulf region have embarked upon huge capacity expansion programmes. As such, iron & steel industry generally seems to be poised for a healthy growth for next few years, especially in Asian region.

Any change in finished steel prices has a cascading effect and it influences the whole supply chain. Raw material prices, which were also shooting out of the roof for quite some time, have also started settling down. Today, iron ore and coal linkage along with met coke availability are the key factors influencing the prospects of any company. What are the short term and long term perspectives regarding steel raw materials ?

The international trade is slowly getting dominated by value added products day by day. Also, the winds of liberalisation are reaching developing countries opening new markets for steel products. Which are these new products? Where are the emerging markets? How big is the role of logistics? Where will the international steel trade reach by 2012 ?

The viability, longitivity and growth of any manufacturing based business largely depends on technology. Technology can be the strongest driver of cost competitiveness and can provide the required cutting edge to overcome the competition. What is the right technology for a particular product? How local conditions affect the selection of technology? How much should be the 'cost of technology'?

These and many other prime issues, country profiles, success stories, technology updates, will be deliberated in the 7th Asian Steel Conference being organized on 7-8 December in Mumbai.

 D.A.Chandekar
Editor & CEO

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Hike in steel prices puts Punjab units in a spot

A sudden increase in steel prices by local steel manufacturers today came as a shock to steel-consuming industries. Stepping on the toes of large-scale producers, local manufacturers effected an increase of Rs 700-1,000 per tonne. The decision will impact industries like cycles, cycle parts, auto parts and light engineering, which fear they may lose orders. "Rapid fluctuations in steel rates have been giving industry a tough time, particularly to small- and medium-scale units, which rely on short-term orders. Today's increase will lead to losses as finished products need to be supplied at the previous rate," said Varinder Kapoor, general secretary, United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association. Industrialists said raw material formed more than 60 per cent of the input cost and the increase had a direct bearing on the cost of production. A unit that procures orders at a certain price will either lose that order or incur losses when such an increase happens. "In the past one year only, there has been an increase of almost Rs 5,000 per tonne in the price of HR coils. Prices of flats too have been on the rise. Despite the fact that there is no increase in global rates, they are increasing their prices. Following them, local producers too increased rates," said P D Sharma, president (Punjab), Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry. While an increase of around Rs 700-800 per tonne was effected in the rates of HR coil, the price of flats was increased by almost Rs 1,000 per tonne. The rise, said industrialists, would not only have a bearing on margins, it would also render the industry uncompetitive. "For large-scale steel consumers, the effect is not as bad because they get orders on a long-term basis. As a result, they are able to cope with such increases. Small units that rely on short-term orders are badly affected,” said an industrialist.

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Kirloskars take over Kolhapur Steel

Pumps manufacturer firm Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (KBL) has taken over the management of the ailing The Kolhapur Steel Ltd (TKSL). A communication from the company said that Kolhapur Steel will now have a majority of directors who will be nominated by KBL. The Kolhapur Steel Ltd had run into financial trouble and was under the observation of the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR). It had reported earlier on June 1 that KBL was preparing to take over the Kolhapur-based castings company for a consideration of about Rs 18 crore.
According to an order passed by BIFR on September 10, KBL will pay Rs 14.86 crore in a 'no lien' account, earmarked for paying the dues of TKSL to Shree Suvarna Sahakari Bank Ltd and another creditor. TKSL, incorporated in 1965, is engaged in the manufacture of alloy steel castings catering to sugar, cement, steel, pumpsôvalves, marine, earth moving and other general engineering industries. The capacity of TKSL steel castings can be used by the KBL to meet its captive demand due to the rise in production as well as to cater to other customers. The share purchase agreement will be executed on the approval of BIFR.
The proposal for the takeover of Kolhapur Steel by KBL was formalised in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed late May this year by the company and the members of a consortium of the lender banks of TKSL comprising of the IDBI Bank (formerly United Western Bank), Canara Bank and Pune-based Shree Suvarna Co-operative Bank. The Rs 22 crore Kolhapur Steel, being a steel foundry, is suitable for Kirloskar Brothers¿ business and offers itself as a readymade addition to its manufacturing capacity which observers feel is vital to sustain the progress mustered by KBL in the last couple of years. The deal is seen as part of the attempts to recover the dues of the now defunct Shree Suvarna Sahakari Bank Ltd, Pune, which was promoted by Dnyaneshwar Agashe who owns over 90 per cent stake in Kolhapur Steel.

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SAIL to revive Steel Complex Limited in Kerala

Mr. Elamaram Kareem, Industries Minister of Kerala, announced that Steel Authority of India would revive state owned Steel Complex Limited and make it financially self sustaining. He said that, “SAIL has agreed to revive the unit in three stages to increase its production level from the existing 20,000 tonnes per year to 50,000 tonnes per year.”
He informed that Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Steel inister, has cleared the revival package after the state sent him a proposal for taking over Steel Complex Limited. He added that a feasibility report was prepared after SAIL officials visited the unit recently to conduct studies on plant facilities and operational limitations.
Mr. Kareem said that, “As regards financial commitments, SAIL will provide the necessary support for stage-I and for the next two stages, the support will be finalized after completion of the first stage.” He said that in the first stage, production from the current level of 20,000 tonnes would be increased to 50,000 tonnes per year through optimization of process parameters and maintenance practices of electric arc furnace and billet caster without any capital investment in a six month period. He added that while stage II envisaged a capital investment of INR 3 crore in a time period of 10 months, stage III proposed installation of a rolling mill with a capital cost of INR 50 crore in duration of 18 months.

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Housewife turns entrepreneur,wields metal in rural Bengal

Madhabi set up a steel furniture shop, gave jobs to villagers. When 45-year-old Madhabi Mondal Saha, a housewife, turned an entrepreneur, nobody had the faintest idea that one day she would bring laurels to her village. “My mother-in-law introduces me to our relatives as the ghar ki Lakshmi (Goddess of Prosperity),” said Madhabi.
Hailing from Khasjangle village in West Medinipur in West Bengal, she has just received the Ministry of Medium and Small Enterprises special award for SC /ST entrepreneur from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In 2000, Madhabi started Sarama Steel Furnitures with an initial investment of Rs 65,000. While a part of the investment was through a loan from a co-operative bank in Medinipur, she borrowed most of the remaining amount from relatives. “I also had to sell some of my jewellery besides, taking money from my father, mother-in-law and friends,” she said. She set up a small workshop with five workers and started making steel furniture like almirahs, chairs and hospital beds. “Initially, the problem was money, then when we started production it was publicity. Our village is too small to make good business, so we had to place advertisements in local newspapers and hoardings. After those initial hiccups, the sales figure started growing and now we are catering to surrounding areas and government departments, both on a wholesale as well as retail basis,” Madhabi said. She now runs two showrooms, one in Khasjangle and the other in Medinipur, and provides direct employment to 20 people.
The value of her annual production, which was Rs 17 lakh in 2001-02, increased to Rs 26 lakh in 2004-05. Her company made a profit of Rs 2 lakh. “Now, the value of our industry is Rs 65 to 70 lakh and profits are much better than the previous years,” she said. Madhabi took a loan of Rs 12 lakh from Allahabad Bank (where her husband works as a clerk) last year and has some major plans ahead. “I have a proposal to set up an electric coil industry with an investment of Rs 50-60 lakh,” she said.

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Indian iron ore exporters claim to be hit by strengthening rupee

Indian domestic iron ore miners said that their export revenue has slumped by about INR 1,000 crore owing to rupee appreciation and demanded abolition of export duty on the mineral to offset the losses despite the spot export prices of iron ore nearly doubling in last few months.
Mr. Rahul N Baldota, President of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, said that “We have already lost about 15% of our export revenue, which is about INR 1,000 crore, owing to rupee appreciation. We seek immediate abolition of export duty to enable us offset the losses sustained. Imposition of export duty coupled with rupee rise against the dollar has served a double whammy to the miners and could lead to further trouble if no succor was provided to them.”
Mr. Baldota said that, “The only way through which the government could help us was to remove the export duty on iron ore. Another way to bail out the iron ore miners of the current situation was to abolish the service tax currently levied on mining the mineral. If this is done it would also provide a reprieve to us.”
But the steel industry was not impressed by FIMI's assertion on sustaining losses, with the Indian Steel Alliance arguing that rising iron ore prices, both in domestic market and internationally, would definitely offset their losses. Mr. Moosa Raza, President of Indian Steel Alliance, said that “The Indian Steel Alliance feels that there has been tremendous appreciation of the prices of iron ore both domestically and globally. Rupee appreciation may be absorbed by them in that case.”
Indian steel industry and miners are at loggerheads on the issue of ore export with the former saying that unabated exports of the mineral could seriously jeopardize the massive capacity expansions announced by major steel companies as they needed assured raw material linkages. On the other hand, minors contended that they were constrained to export iron ore since the domestic steel companies were unable to off take surplus production.

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Indian 2006 pig iron export up by 115.8% YoY

India has exported around 680,000 tonnes of pig iron in 2006 up by 115.8% YoY.
India's export destinations with details are
1) Thailand: 173,000 tonnes or 25.5% up by 134.3% YoY
2) China: 134,000 tonnes or 19.8% up by 322.3% YoY
3) Taiwan: 105,000 tonnes or 15.4% up by 3027.3% YoY
4) Japan: 96,000 tonnes or 14.1% up by 1428.3% YoY
And these four countries occupied 74.8% of the whole volume.

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Tata BlueScope Steel to invest Rs 880 crore in Jamshedpur

Tata BlueScope Steel, a joint venture between Tata Steel and Australia-based BlueScope Steel, will invest Rs 880 crore in setting up a metal coating facility in Jamshedpur. Chetan Tolia, managing director, Tata BlueScope Steel said the plant would be on stream by the last quarter of 2009.
The joint venture has already invested Rs 340 crore in setting up three rollforming and pre-engineered building facilities in Delhi, Pune and Chennai. The capacity of the Jamshedpur facility would be 2,50,000 tonnes, of which colorbond, colour coated steel would constitute 1,50,000 tonnes and zinc aluminium coated steel will account for 1,00,000 tonnes. Tata BlueScope currently sources colour coated steel from the Thailand and Australian facilities of BlueScope
The demand for metal coated steel was on the rise, according to Tolia, with India's current requirements being four million tonnes. The demand for zinc aluminium coated steel was increasing at the rate of 15-20 per cent, while that for colour coated steel was up by around 25 per cent. Tata BlueScope was eyeing a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore by 2010, post the Jamshedpur facility. The joint venture is looking at clocking a turnover in excess of Rs 250 crore this year.
Tata BlueScope may also look beyond India. The joint venture is servicing requirements in the SAARC region. In addition, the company would assume ownership of BlueScope Steel's LYSAGHT rollforming business in Sri Lanka, which has been in operation since 1994.

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SBI gives Tata $1 bn for Corus buy

The State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, has come to Tata Steel's aid for completing the fund-raising for its $12.9 billion acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus. The bank has agreed to provide up to $1 billion to Tata Steel's special purpose vehicle, Tata Steel UK, to refinance $7.2 billion of bridge loans taken for the biggest buyout by an Indian company. “We have approved a loan of $800 million to $1 billion to Tata Steel,” said a senior SBI official.
A Tata Steel spokesperson confirmed that the company was availing of the loan from the SBI. Tata Steel had to turn to the SBI after some foreign banks backed out, thanks to the sub-prime crisis in the US and the credit squeeze that followed. According to reports, about $500 billion of fund-raising has been caught in a global credit logjam caused by risk aversion among banks and otherinvestors. This is also the first acquisition financing of this size provided by the SBI, which till now was involved in deals of less than $100 million (Rs 410 crore). “In February, the SBI had raised close to $700 million — $300 million under the medium term note programme and $400 million through innovative perpetual debt instruments — which could have been used to fund the acquisition. The company (Tata Steel) did not avail of the loan then, but now it wants it,” said the SBI official.
Early last month, Tata Steel had to agree to pay 50 basis points more on a $1-billion, seven-year loan as the banks participating in the loan syndication bargained with the underwriters for higher yield. The loan's underwriters were ABN Amro, Citigroup and Standard Chartered. There has been as much as 200 basis point increase in credit spreads on Indian loan and bond issues since the last week of July, when the sub-prime crisis first struck international credit markets.

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Mechanized iron ore handling at Mangalore port

New Mangalore Port Trust, in its effort to grab a sizeable portion of the growing iron ore exports from India, is planning to install mechanized iron ore loading system. Once the mechanized cargo handling system is in place, the port will be able to service bigger ships up to the size of 100,000 DWT.
The new system involves erection of a conveyor belt from the marshalling yard to the back of iron ore berth. Iron ore will come into the port by the railway line and iron ore will be loaded on to the conveyor belt by tipping the wagons. The conveyor belt will run up to the ship for a smooth and faster loading. The project is being implemented on a build own and transfer basis for a period of 30 years. It is expected to be complete in 18 to 24 months from the date of awarding the contract. New Mangalore Port Trust has already floated global tenders for the INR 130 crore project and is awaiting security clearance from the ministry of surface transport. Officials of New Mangalore Port said that “We floated the tenders last year and 5 companies have submitted their technical bids. Once the ministry clears their names, we will open the bids and finalize the bidder.”
According to New Mangalore Port Trust officials, the cost of the project is likely to go up to INR 150 to INR 160 crore as there has been a considerable delay in implementing the project. The bids are, however, valid till December end 2007.
At present, there are 737 laborers at the New Mangalore Port who normally take 2 days to load a ship with 30,000 DWT. The port has already installed a 104 tonne capacity mobile harbour crane to enable the faster loading of iron ore.

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Orissa CM calls for utilizing low grade iron ore

Naveen Patnaik chief minister of Orissa has reiterated the demand for a freeze on the export of iron ore at the current level and phase it out in a few years time.
Mr. Naveen, while addressing a seminar organised by the confederation of Indian industry, said that besides imposing a freeze on the export of iron ore, new technology has to be brought in to utilise low grade ore. If China can utilise iron ore of 35 grade to 40 grade, there is no reason why India cannot do so.” He called for substantial investment in beneficiation, sintering and pelletisation.
Mr. Naveen said that despite being rich in coal, iron ore and bauxite, Orissa is considered to be one of the poorest states in the country, as mineral resources have not been fully utilised. He also sought the assistance of mining companies and mineral based industries for strengthening of basic infrastructure in State.

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Sethu project faces 20% to 30% cost surge

It is reported that Sethusamudram canal project off the Tamil Nadu coast will face a cost escalation of over 20% to 30% and a delay of over a year if the government decides to re-align the canal in response to opposition from various political parties.
Officials of shipping ministry said that a new alignment for the canal would require fresh geological studies like soil testing, wave and sedimentation testing and an environmental impact assessment. They added that the current deadline of November 30th 2008 cannot be met since work on the project has been stopped following a Supreme Court order on September 14th 2007. So far, only 35% of the dredging work has been completed.
The current alignment of the canal runs through the controversial Adam's Bridge, which was selected by the National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute, because of its distance from the land that would minimize the environmental impact.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party, which considers Adam's Bridge of religious significance, has suggested an alignment that runs through the ecologically sensitive marine bio park in the Palk Bay. Ministry officials said that this was not a feasible arrangement, as it is closer to the land mass and would affect local fishermen. The Palk Bay was one of five alignments that the National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute rejected, while conducting the environmental study for the project.

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Bolivian nod for Jindal Steel mining project

The Bolivian Parliament has given its nod to a joint venture between Bolivia and Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) to develop El Mutun iron ore mines and set up a steel plant in that country. “The Bolivian Chamber of Deputies has given its approval to the joint venture agreement signed last July by the government and Indian steel company JSPL to develop an iron ore mine and steelworks at El Mutun iron ore deposit,” Steel Business Briefing reported. However, the house is still to analyse some details of the contract before sending it to the senate, which is to ratify the deal. A JSPL official could not immediately confirm the development. The Bolivian government was also exploring ways to disburse initial funding for the JV company, Empresa Siderurgica del Mutun. The company required about $7 million to meet operating costs such as hiring employees and opening offices, the briefing said. The JV company was slated to meet today to approve its statute, it added. JSPL has planned to invest $2.3 billion in the next 10 years for mining and setting up a plant. The JV company would be mining 20 billion tonnes, out of El Mutun's 40 billion tonne reserves, from mines located near the Brazilian border. Of the total investment planned, 20 per cent would go into mining and remaining for the steel plant. The debt-equity ratio for the project would be 60:40. Jindal would pay $20 million to the government in taxes, SBB added.

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Record unloading of HR steel coils at Kandla Port

It is reported that a record 30,863.42 tonnes of hot rolled steel coils were discharged in less than 24 hours from the vessel mv Great Summit at Kandla Port. Of the total, about 4,000 tonnes were discharged by the
shore crane belonging to AV Joshi, with the balance unloaded by the 4 vessel cranes. The importers of the cargo, which was loaded from Shanghai port in China, were PSL Ltd with 14,132 tonnes and Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohern Limited with 16,730 tonnes.
Facilitating this achievement as vessel agent was Parekh Marine Agencies Private Limited. While the stevedoring was handled by Chotalal Premji Stevedores Private Limited, the charterer was Korea's Samsun Logix Corporation.
According to a Parekh Marine release, this achievement was possible due to the coordinated efforts of the Kandla Port authorities, port labor, importers and transporters.

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SAIL gets PM support on Chiria iron ore mines

Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, has assigned Chiria mines to Steel Authority of India Limited and has suggested to the Jharkhand government to ensure the same.
Government sources allegedly said that, “In a letter to the Jharkhand Government, the Prime Minister is understood to have suggested that it should expedite allocation of the mines to Steel Authority of India Limited, at the earliest to safeguard its interest. The Prime Minister has asked the state to immediately allow SAIL access to 1 billion tonne of iron ore and for the remaining 1 billion both SAIL and Madhu Koda government could strike a separate deal to allow the PSU to mine the mineral to meet its capacity expansion in Bokaro.”
SAIL already enjoys the support of the union steel ministry over ownership on 2 billion iron ore mines. A top steel ministry official said that "Even Mr Ram Vilas Paswan union steel minister had also said that 2 billion tonnes be given to SAIL and the remaining, if any, be kept for the private players. He has opposed sharing of iron ore from the mines as that could be prejudicial to the long term interest of SAIL."
SAIL through its merger with IISCO last year had won the mining rights to three of the 6 blocks in Chiria while the remaining 3 are sub judice in Jharkhand High Court. Following cancellation of leases by the state government, SAIL approached the Mining Tribunal, which subsequently asked the state to revoke the cancellation. SAIL and the state government are now fighting the issue in court. Meanwhile, the centre has initiated efforts to evolve an amicable solution to the imbroglio and steel ministry officials have held talks with state government officials for a possible out of court settlement on the issue.
SAIL is carrying out modernisation of its Bokaro Steel Plant and has also proposed to set up a 10 million tonne Greenfield steel project near it.

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Manganese Ore plans plant in AP

Public-sector Manganese Ore (India) Limited (MOIL) will be setting up a 75,000-tonne capacity ferro alloy plant in Andhra Pradesh with an investment Rs 150 crore. This is the second such plant proposed by the company in the country. MOIL has chosen Bobbili in the north coastal Andhra region for the plant due to its close proximity to rail and port facilities. This apart, the power subsidy being offered to ferro alloy units by the state made it the preferred destination, Kishan Lal Mehrotraa, chairman-cum-managing director, of the company, said.
While the one-lakh tonne capacity ferro alloy plant at Rs 250 crore investment proposed by MOIL as a 50:50 joint venture with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) at Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, is expected to be completed by mid-2009, the Andhra plant would be up and running in two years, Mehrotraa said. The company currently has a small ferro alloy plant with 10,000 tonne capacity at Balagarh in Madhya Pradesh. The state-owned Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) recently allotted 100 acres of land to the MOIL at Bobbili, which is being developed as a growth centre in the backward Vizianagaram district. The company has also paid a part of the Rs 7.3 crore price fixed towards the land.
The company proposes to set up a 16.5-MVA furnace for ferro manganese and a 27-MVA furnace for silico manganese at the Bobbili facility, which would produce 30,000 tonne and 45,000 tonne of the ferro alloys respectively. These form an essential raw material for steel making as for the production of every one tonne of steel around 15 kg of ferro alloys is required. Speaking to repoters, BP Acharya, vice-chairman and managing director, APIIC, said MOIL's decision is a welcome development since its presence would attract a host of ancillary industries into this backward region. Value-addition is part of the company's diversification plans, which is focused on a single commodity of manganese ore, commanding close to 60 per cent of the country's market share with 1.2 million tonne of the 2 million tonne production.
The company plans to step up production to 3 million tonne by the year 2009-10 by increasing the output in its existing mines and also by expanding its operations to Orissa.

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Mjunction eyes 49% jump in turnover

Mjunction services, a joint venture between Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Tata Steel, is eyeing a 49 per cent growth in transactions to Rs 12,000 crore this financial year. Viresh Oberoi, managing director, mjunction services, said, around Rs 3,500 crore would come from metaljunction, which is the world's largest steel e-marketplace. buyjunction, the procurement platform, would account for an equal share. In 2007, transactions were at Rs 8,053 crore, largely led by new launches autojunction.in and straightline.in. straightline.in, the e-retail initiative of mjunction services, is in the process of widening the scope of e-retailing in the construction materials market. Oberoi said, there was no website dedicated to serve the construction industry.
“All construction materials are purchased through traditional offline route due to supply chain inefficiencies and lack of transparency,” he said. Straightline plans to leverage this opportunity. As a step in this direction, straightline today announced its tie-up with Lafarge India. The marketing tie-up with Lafarge is initiated through a pilot programme, which has been started in Kolkata and Siliguri. The tie-up would be scaled up in the eastern region, where Lafarge happens to be the largest selling cement brand. Straightline would also create an e-sales channel for Patton, which would start with e-retailing plastic tanks, rigid PVC pipes and SWR pipes from its portfolio. Oberoi said, “The concept of e-commerce is evolving.
We have transformed the traditional steel and coal supply chains selling over five million tonnes of steel and 20 million tonnes of coal online. With straightline.in, we will provide an efficient and convenient electronic platform for small and large customers living in urban and rural areas to source directly from reputed manufacturers avoiding value destroying middlemen."

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LOI to supply new roller hearth furnace to Kalibre Boru speciality

Australian engineering and construction major Leighton Holdings Ltd., will continue to aggressively target the Middle East for its ambitious growth plans. Mr. Wal King, CEO, Leighton, told that the Middle East is absolutely booming, with USD 1.4 trillion worth of projects planned in the region, USD 25 billion of which are in Abu Dhabi including museums and a performing arts center. Mr. King said, “Gulf is the biggest construction market in the world per capita. We would consider joint ventures and acquisitions and are holing discussions with the largest construction company in the Middle East. It is just staggering the amount of projects in Abu Dhabi.” He said that, Leighton is exploring alliances and acquisitions in the Middle East but did not elaborating. He also added that the high levels of mining were unlikely to decrease and wanted to secure mining deals in India, China and Canada and opportunities for major infrastructure contracts in Australia were expected to continue.
Mr. King said, “'Opportunities out there are big and large. We have a growing population and we have under invested. There are water shortages and traffic jams, which are driving along greater infrastructure opportunities.'” Leighton Holdings Ltd., has posted a 65% increase in second half profit as infrastructure and mining contracts swelled its order book to an all time high. Its net income in the six months ended June 30th 2007 rose to AUD 260 million from AUD 158 million a year earlier.

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Al Ghurair to expand new CR and galvanizing facilities

It is reported that the Turkish company Kalibre Boru in Izmit has awarded LOI Thermprocess a contract for a new continuous roller hearth furnace to boost its production few months back. Production with the new plant is scheduled to start in 2008.The roller hearth furnace is to be used for normalizing at 840°C to 950°C and stress relieves annealing at 550°C to 650°C. The furnace will be heated by radiant tubes with recuperator burners. The scope of supplies under the contract includes an advanced control program for open loop and closed loop control functions.
The new furnace plant is to be used for the bright annealing of high quality welded tubes made from hot rolled, descaled or cold rolled steel sheet and for cold drawn tubes in a protective controlled atmosphere. Depending on the annealing program selected, the furnace capacity will be about 4000 kilogram per hour. The furnace will have an overall length of 90.8 meter. Kalibre Boru produces precision steel tubes especially for the automobile and machinery industries.speciality.

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ArcelorMittal to acquire 51% stake in Rozak

ArcelorMittal announces the proposed acquisition of 51% of the shares of Rozak AS, the main Turkish steel stockholding company. The transaction is subject to antitrust authorities' approval, and is expected to be completed by year end 2007. Rozak has 5 facilities in Turkey at Gebze, Ikitelli, Eregli, Iskenderum and Izmit and its offices are located in Ikitelli and Eregli. Gebze and Izmit. Rozak is specialized in H profiles, sheet and plates. In 2006, it shipped 450,000 tons and its turnover reached EUR 260 million. It was created in 1983 and was owned since then by the founding family
Mr. Gonzalo Urquijo, member of the Group Management Board of ArcelorMittal and in charge of Steel Solutions & Services, said that, “this acquisition is an important step for ArcelorMittal to meet the strong Turkish demand in all products. Turkey is one of the fastest growing steel markets. The construction sector is very dynamic, with a growth rate above 10%. The acquisition of this stake in Rozak will allow our steel distribution business in this country to reach its capacity target in 2010.”
ArcelorMittal is already active in Turkey in flat carbon steel production, through a participation in Borçelik, as well as in the packaging and steel service centre businesses.

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SteelTech - Designed for the region's growing steel manufacturing sector

The GCC region is well on its way to becoming an important iron and steel production centre in the Middle East. In 2005, the GCC States had invested US $ 6.5 billion on the manufacturing of iron and steel products, according to a report by Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC). The demand for iron and steel products during this period stood at 15 million tonnes with a substantial share of it met through imports. The region’s import of iron & steel products during 2005 totaled to 14.3 million tonnes. It is estimated that the demand for steel from UAE alone stood at 3.5 mts in 2006.
With over USD $ 1 trillion worth of infrastructure projects in the pipeline, there are no indications of any let up in the region’s demand for iron and steel in the near future. In fact, the demand for iron and steel in the GCC region is expected to increase by 31% to 19.7 million tonnes by 2008 as a result of heightened construction activities.
Other than the GCC States the rest of the Middle East too has been experiencing a significant increase in demand for construction materials, particularly steel.
According to Steelworld, a leading trade magazine in the Asian Iron & Steel sector, the total steel production from Jan 2006 to Nov 2006 in the Middle East was 13.5 million tonnes against a figure of 13.4 million tonnes during the same period the previous year. The world crude steel production for the year 2005 stood at 1129.4 million tonnes while for the period from Jan 2006 to Nov 2006 it was around 1111.8 million tonnes.
SteelTech is specifically designed to cater to the sourcing requirements of the Middle East steel manufacturing industry.

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Middle East steel demand seen rising due to regional construction boom

The outlook for demand of steel in the Middle East is highly encouraging given the construction frenzy currently on in the region. Considering factors like booming economies of the GCC states, high oil prices, and increased investments on infrastructure development among others, there are no indications of any slow down in construction activities in the region thereby pointing towards consistent growth in steel demand.
With the expected growth in demand of steel, many business houses have announced brown-field as well as green-field expansion programs which will substantially increase the steel making capacity of the region. The Middle East is fast becoming a steel production hub. Along with it, down the line facilities like rolling, slitting, galvanizing, fabrication are also coming up. Indeed, iron & steel industry in the gulf region is all set for a long leap in next few years !!
The coming years will witness a substantial portion of that demand being met by the Middle East steel industry.

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Ezz Steel Q2 profit up 9.3% YoY

Egypt's Ezz Steel Rebars posted a 9.3% rise in its second quarter net profit as growing economies in the region boosted steel demand. Ezz Steel said its second quarter net profit after tax and minority interests were EGP 347 million (USD 61 million) as compared to EGP 317.33 million in second quarter of 2006. Its net sales gained by 10% QoQ from the first quarter to EGP 4.1 billion. EBITDA was EGP 1.1 billion in the second quarter.
It added that sales of long steel products, which include rebars and beams, accounted for 64% of total sales. It expected demand to remain strong for long steel products in both Egypt and the region. Mr. Ahmed Ezz chairman of Ezz Steel said that "We have worked hard to capitalize on robust market conditions, by making optimal use of our ability to produce a diverse product range.

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SteelTech to colocate with fourth edition of SteelFab

The debut edition of SteelTech will colocate with the fourth edition of SteelFab. SteelFab is the Middle East’s largest display of Steel, Fasteners, Accessories, Surface Preparation, Machinery and Tools, Welding and Cutting, Finishing and Testing equipment, and Coatings and Anti-Corrosion material.
SteelFab 2008 will feature a dedicated hall for Sheet Metal Technology and will display equipment & machinery for AC duct manufacturing, Kitchen Manufacturing, Cabinet Manufacturing & other similar sheet metal product manufacturing in the Middle East region.
The third edition of SteelFab, which concluded at Expo Centre Sharjah on January 31, 2007, had attracted a total of 5,797 visitors. Of the total visitors, 69.1% were from the GCC States. The UAE accounted for 87.49%, Saudi Arabia 6.09%, Oman 2.12%, Qatar 1.82%, Kuwait 1.69%, and Bahrain 0.77% of the total visitors from the region.

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Al Jazeera Steel to issue shares to Global Buyout Fund LP

Al Jazeera Steel Product Company announced that it will increase its issued share capital from OMR 6,120,000, divided into 61,200,000 shares with a par value of OMR 0.100 per share, to OMR 12,489,796, divided into 124,897,796 with a par value of OMR 0.100 per share. The increase will be achieved by issuing 63,697,960 shares with a par value of OMR 0.100 per share and at a price of 0.325 per share for subscription shares. The subscription shares will be allocated to Global Buyout Fund LP by way of private placement.

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Indonesian coal output to rise by 34% by 2010

It is reported that Indonesia may increase its coal output by 34 % within three years as it sells more of the fuel to Japan and South Korea while Chinese exports decline and rising oil prices have led Asian electricity generators to switch to coal. Credit Suisse forecast that “Everyone is looking at a positive market with strong demand and they are getting up to maximum production.'' Indonesia may raise output to 259 million tonnes in 2010 from 193 million tons in 2006.”
Mr. Haider Ali, analyst for Credit Suisse said that the world's biggest producer, China became a net importer of coal in 2007 curbing supplies to other Asian nations. He added that shipments from Newcastle, Australia and Richards Bay, South Africa have been constrained by transport bottlenecks and Indonesian producers are actively responding to the situation.
Credit Suisse said in a report that China will have net imports of 37 million tonnes in 2010 compared with net exports of 25 million tonnes in 2006. The three largest coal producers in Indonesia can supply 40 % of the power station fuel needed by China.

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China hopes for slow down in iron ore imports

China's iron ore imports are expected to increase at a slower pace because of rising domestic supply and decline in the growth of steel output capacity. Mr. Zou Jian, chairman of the China Metallurgical Mining Enterprise Association at International Iron Ore Market Seminar, at Shanghai, said that, “The domestic demand for iron ore is expected to increase around 70 million tonnes in 2007. Apart from the domestic output growth of around 40 to 45 million tonnes, we need only 30 million tons more from overseas, which rose only 9% from 2006. Large drops are expected in steel prices in 2009 because of the projected slowdown of world economic growth. He added that China's crude steel output rose only 14.64% in June 2007 dropping 11.44% points from January. The output is expected to increase slower which may lead to shrinkage in iron ore demand.”
China import of iron ore rose to 187.9 million tonnes in January to June 2007 up by 16.46%YoY. The output of large and medium sized mines rose 29.28% to 321.28 million tonnes in January to June 2007 while the output of small mines was around 50 million tonnes. Mr. Chen Xianwen, an official from the China Iron & Steel Association at the seminar said that the large scale of mining by domestic steel companies is expected to curb further rises in ore prices.

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Vietnam steel sector plan outlines USD 12 billion investment

According to a 2007-2025 Vietnam's steel development plan, approved by the prime minister of Vietnam on September 4th 2007,Viet Nam's steel sector needs between USD 10 billion to 12 billion for its development between 2007 and 2025.
The plan requires the sector to meet all domestic demand by 2025 and produce some more for export. Viet Nam is to forecast to require between 10 to 11 million tonnes of steel by 2010 and 24 to 25 million tonnes by 2025 to satisfy huge demand from property and infrastructure development. Towards these goals, the plan has singled out key projects for priority investment in the 2007-2015 period, including two steel complexes in northern Lao Cai and central Ha Tinh provinces, the Dung Quat Steel Complex, several high quality rolled steel and zinc plated steel plants, and the second phase of a project to expand the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Company.

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Pt Inco gets forestry permit for power plant on Larona River Metals

Indonesian nickel matte producer Pt Inco has been issued a forestry permit, allowing it to resume work on the Karebbe hydroelectric generation facility on the Larona River.
The new power facility will lift the Pt Inco's generating capacity to 90MW and is a key part of Pt Inco's plans to lift nickel in matte production capacity to around 200 million pounds per year.
Construction of the power plant was suspended in January 2006 pending receipt of the forestry permit.

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POSCO begins work on galvanizing line in Mexico

POSCO announced that it has begun the construction of a new plant in Mexico. The USD 250 million plant, scheduled for completion in September 2009, will be POSCO's second facility in Mexico. The plant, located near the port city of Altamira on the eastern coast, is a continuous galvanizing line, which will have an annual production capacity of 400,000 metric tons. POSCO said that the plant would allow it to increase its share of the world's market for steel plates used in automobile production.
The company said that Mexico has one of Central and North America's fastest growing automotive industries with around 1,000 auto parts makers and plants for some of the world's largest automakers, including GM and Volkswagen. Company officials added that the North American Free Trade Agreement would allow POSCO to bypass antidumping laws and other trade regulations when exporting to the United States and Canada. POSCO's first Mexican facility, which began production in March this year, is a plate steel processing center located in the state of Puebla in central Mexico.”

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NDRC publishes eliminated obsolete steel capacity in H1

China's National Development and Reform Commission has published the enterprise list of obsolete capacity which has been shut down and eliminated in the first half of 2007. Mr. Ma Kai director of National Development and Reform Commission while speaking at a State Council conference held earlier on April 27th 2007 revealed that 10 provinces/municipalities ie Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jingling, Shandong, Henan, Xinjiang had signed first round of written commitments to shut down and eliminate outdated iron making capacity and obsolete steelmaking capacity of 39.86 and 41.67 million tonnes respectively in 344 enterprises during the eleventh "Five-Year" Plan with 22.55 and 24.23 million tonnes to be closed down by the end of this year.
Five out of the above mentioned steelmaking provinces, ie Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, Jiangsu and Shandong are responsible for 70% of the China outdated iron-making capacity and 50% of obsolete steelmaking capacity.
Latest statistics show the 10 provinces/municipalities have so far washed out backward iron making capacity and obsolete steelmaking capacity of 9.69 and 8.73 million tonnes respectively accounting for 43% and 36% of scheduled targets.
Shanxi Province has eliminated another 2.98 million tonnes of outdated iron making capacity out of the commitment. Besides, Ma'anshan Steel which is not included in the commitment has shut down five 300 cubic meter blast furnaces representing iron making capacity of 1.75 million tonnes.
NDRC held a conference on May 31st 2007 to discuss the written commitments for the second round of obsolete steel capacity elimination with 18 provinces/ municipalities including Tianjin and Baosteel Group.
Mr. Luo Bingshen VC and secretary general of China Iron & Steel Association on July 30th 2007 said that the second round of obsolete steel capacity elimination is on the way and related provinces/municipalities will soon sign written commitments with NDRC to wash out obsolete capacities.

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Lion Corp mulls steel mill in Vietnam

Malaysian conglomerate Lion Group is considering plans to build a USD 7 billion steel mill in Vietnam as part of its regional expansion. Lion Group in a statement to the stock exchange said that it has teamed up with Vietnam's state owned Shipbuilding Industry Group to conduct a feasibility study of the project. It added that "Once the feasibility study is completed and approvals are obtained, a consortium will be formed to undertake the steel plant project. The facility is earmarked for completion in the next 10 to 15 years.”
The Lion Group is involved in a wide range of businesses from steel to property development. It has operations in the region including Indonesia, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as the United States and Mexico. Vinashin is the largest shipbuilding company in Vietnam and is expanding its operations into other areas such as financial investment and transportation services.

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Ailing mine runs in full swing after 2 years

A major operational breakthrough, the seriously troubled Bangladesh's Barapukuria coalmine has resumed nearly full production after two years eliminating the need for the nation to import coal to run its lone 250 MW coal fired power plant. The re opening operation took on August 18th 2007 at a depth of 1,100 feet ensuring highest safety measures, as there were threats of explosion and air poisoning.
Mr. Aziz Khan, MD, Barapukuria Coal Mine Company Ltd., said that "A phase of the coalmine that was shut down along with mining equipment in October 2005 has been successfully reopened on August 18th 2007. Coal production from this phase has started from August 23rd 2007.”
A technical officer of the BCMCL termed the reopening a major breakthrough for the financially crippled mine. He said that "We believe this will change the economic situation of the mine. It is surprising that the mining equipment is completely intact, except for the hose pipes worth may be USD 20,000, everything is running. We are expecting to increase the production between 2,800 tonnes and 3,200 tonnes in the next month." In early October 2005, the mining authorities sealed off mine phase no 1,110 along with one of the two sets of mining equipment worth USD 5.5 million to avert a disaster due to emission of poisonous gas and self combustion. It became very difficult to reopen this phase as it was filled with carbon monoxide and methane.
Mining of coal was then restricted to just one phase. As a result, the mine's daily coal production target of 2,700 tonnes was halved. This production was inadequate to run the 250MW coal fired power plant at the mine site that requires 2,400 tonnes of coal daily for its operation in full capacity. With the opening of the sealed off area and the recovery of the mining equipment in fully operational shape, the mine is now producing 2,700 tonnes.

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Vietnam rebar makers reeling under high billet prices

It is reported that several Vietnamese steel mills have reported losses due to the sharp increase of billets prices. Vietnam Steel Association in a document sent to Vietnam's ministries of industry & trade and finance on September 12 showed that the imported billet price, which was USD 389 per tonne on average in 2006, has increased four times from May to August 2007 to USD 485, USD 513, USD 523 and USD 530 per tonne respectively. The billet prices in Vietnam have been pushed up to the highest ever level in history since September 2007, as their supply became limited as the result of the Chinese policies on limiting semi finished steel exports. In recent offers, suppliers required USD 570 to USD 580 per tonne CFR.
Mr. Pham Chi Cuong, chairman of VSA, said that the market is now very tense and that VSC has reported heavy losses in August as it tried not to raise the selling prices as required by the government. Once steel mills cannot get enough profit for reproduction, the market would suffer a serious shortage of finished products, when Vietnam is entering the high construction season.

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Indonesia Power to reopen coal tender in October

It is reported that a subsidiary of Jakarata state owned electricity utility PLN, PT Indonesia Power plans to reopen the tender in October for the procurement of 2.5 million tonnes of coal to feed its 3,400 MW Suralaya power plant in West Java. Mr Ahmad Sadikin, director for production of Indonesia Power said that it was most likely that the price would exceed IDR 400,000 (USD 43.47) per tonnes following the sharp increase in coal prices on the global market.
As per report the previous tender in June 2007 failed as it proved impossible to reach a deal on pricing with the suppliers holding out for higher prices. Indonesia Power had set a price ceiling of IDR 350,000 per tonnes of coal.
It needs 14 million tonnes of coal in 2008 of which 6 million tonnes will be supplied by PT Bukit Asam Batubara and 2.5 million tonnes by the winner of the tender, with the remainder to be secured on the open market. Indonesia Power also gets coal supplies from PT Kideco and Berau Coal JP.

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Hyundai Steel to reduce import of scrap from Japan

It is reported that South Korean Hyundai Steel is to reduce the import of steel scrap from Japan in the H2 of 2007. Recently Japanese scrap price keeps going up, so Hyundai Steel is increasing scrap import from the United States. The import price is USD 350 per tonnes. It was the first time that Hyundai Steel imported steel scrap from 4 steel mills of the United States and the import volume from September to November was 320,000 tonnes.
The increasing import from the United States has lead to the reduction of scrap imports from Japan.

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ASSDA outlines alternative SS grades

Australian Stainless Steel Development Association has outlined new and emerging stainless steel grades, which may be considered as alternatives to the traditional and widely known varieties. According to ASSDA, the growing demand from China and the rest of the developing world has driven up the price of alloying elements added to stainless steels. Over the last five years nickel prices have risen to ten times what they were. Chromium and molybdenum have also risen strongly, and the price of stainless steel scrap, which steel makers use extensively has soared. Inevitably, stainless steels have also seen large price increases. Growing demand and the time required to develop new supply sources mean that nickel and other alloy prices are unlikely to drop to the levels seen a few years ago. High prices are driving stainless steel users to seek a cost effective solutions. The most common stainless steel grade, 304, is used in about 60% of applications for stainless steel around the world. Grade 304 contains about 8% of nickel, which is used to form the ductile austenite crystal structure. Grade 316, with 10% of nickel and higher corrosion resistance given by an addition of 2% molybdenum, is also common and it is used in marine environments. Users are seeking cost effective alternatives to both these austenitic 300 series grades. Austenitic 200 series, duplex stainless steels and ferritic grades can all be used instead of 304 and 316, if they are selected, designed, fabricated and used appropriately.
According to ASSDA, these grades are austenitic despite their lower nickel because they have more manganese. Manganese is about half as effective in forming austenite as nickel, so for every 1% of nickel left out, about 2% of manganese has to be added at the same level of chromium, which suppresses the formation of austenite. Half the nickel in these grades has been replaced by manganese and the price of manganese is also rising strongly.
Newer Indian 2/3 developments (grades J1 & J4 in the table) have centered on grades with significantly lower corrosion resistance. There are other proprietary 200 series grades with higher chromium contents used in marine and anti–galling applications. The austenitic 200 series are the closest in behavior to the 300 series of the alternative groups. Hence they are the easiest to convert to.
According to ASSDA, the ductility and formability are similar to the 300 grades although the lower nickel gives a greater risk of delayed cracking after heavy cold forming. Welding is similar to the 300 series grades although the 200 grades may have higher carbon and may suffer sensitization if welded in sections thicker than 5 mm. Stress corrosion cracking resistance is similar to the 300 series. Like 304 and 316, 200 series grades do not respond to a magnet when in the annealed condition, but become magnetic after cold work.
According to ASSDA, as with all grade groups, it is important to choose a grade with corrosion resistance adequate for the 3/3 applications. The lower chromium 200 series grades are generally suitable for use with mild acids and alkalis including most foods (pH not less than 3). They are satisfactory with 20°C potable water and are suitable for indoor exposure. They are used extensively for cookware and serving bowls applications where the corrosion conditions are not severe since the utensils are washed and dried. The formability and deep draw ability of the 200 series are especially useful for these applications.

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Severstal plans $10bn upgrade of steel plants

Severstal, Russia's biggest steel company, is planning a $10bn investment programme to expand its plants in Russia, the US, Italy and France in a big expression of confidence in the international metals industry. As quoted by Alexei Mordashov, the company's chief executive and main owner, “I don't see any major changes in the fundamentals of the (steel) industry, Steel demand is quite robust around the world, not just in the Bric countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) but in the mature economies too.” Of the $10bn investment, about three-quarters is earmarked to be spent improving the quality of the steel made in Severstal's main Cherepovets plant near Moscow, plus building two new steel mills in the Volga area of Russia and increasing the company's Russian iron ore and coal production.
The rest of the money will finance new investments to make higher grades of steel in Severstal's steel operations in the US and western Europe. The total steel production by Severstal is expected to increase from about 18m tonnes last year to up to 25m tonnes in 2011. Over this period, the proportion of Severstal's total steel production made in Russia is likely to go down slightly from just over 65 per cent to 60 per cent.
Mordashov owns 82 per cent of Severstal, with the rest of the stock held by outside investors via listings in London and Moscow. He was particularly upbeat about conditions for selling steel in the US - the focus for most the shocks in financial markets in recent weeks, with much of the anxiety linked to problems in the US housing markets.

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SUEK to invest in mining equipments

Russian coal major Siberian Coal Energy Company has no plans to buy coalmines in Australia but will buy its equipment for the modernization of their own operations. Mr Vladimir Rashevsky, GD of SUEK, while on a trip with Mr Putin to Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Australia said “Over the past 15 years Australia has almost doubled coal production and is now one of the world leaders in this field both in terms of safety and environmental protection.”
Mr. Rashevsky said that “Russian coal industry is also beginning to develop intensively and needs Australian experience. We need to borrow the best practices. We are buying equipment and working with Australian consulting firms and IT programmers.”
He does not fear competition from Australia in the international coal market. He said “Formally, we are suppliers in the same market, but it is so big that there will be place for everyone in it, including Russia, Australia and Indonesia. There is no need for Russia to buy Australian coal assets for the time being.”
He said that the main goal is investments inside the country in order to improve the situation after the crisis survived by the industry. He said that SUEK would spend RUB 30 billion for the development of the coal industry in the next five years under its investment program. He said “We actively invest in the development of the coal industry and purchase modern highly productive machinery that will improve occupational safety at the mines."

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Venezuela and Bolivia to form JV for El Mutun steel project

It is reported that Mr Hugo Chávez president of Venezuela and Mr Evo Morales president of Bolivia have entered into four letters of intent to build jointly an iron and steel plant, a petrochemical compound and two cement factories, in addition to forestry related plans.
They signed a preliminary JV agreement to help develop Bolivia's steel industry at the massive El Mutun deposit, where Jindal Steel & Power Limited plans to develop 50% of the deposit. The joint mining iron and steel company that will be located at Cerro Mutún area of Santa Cruz Department in east Bolivia. Mr. Iván Hernández Venezuela's deputy minister of basic industries and mining told BNamericas that "A letter of intent has been signed to see if it is possible to create a JV between Venezuela and Bolivia to develop half of El Mutún.”
Mr Hugo Chavez had declared last month said that "We are willing, together with Bolivia and hopefully other nations, to install ourselves there, not to take the iron from El Mutún, but to develop a 'steel city,' a steel industry. That is what is going to give Bolivia technological development, jobs, and more income.”
Bolivia's Government has already submitted for congressional review a USD 2.1 billion deal giving India's Jindal Steel and Power half ownership in El Mutún. The project includes a 10 million tonne pellet plant, a 1.7 million tonne steel mill and a 450 MW power plant. El Mutún is anticipated to generate USD 200 million annually in export revenues for Bolivia.

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CISA advises to stop investment in stainless steel sector

As per news report, Mr Wu Jianchang deputy director of China Iron & Steel Association has suggested not to invest more in China's stainless steel sector as it is facing overcapacity following plague of the same over crude steel.
Mr Jianchang during the 5th China International Stainless Steel Conference said that hectic investment in stainless steel has formed a capacity that is beyond the current demand and even that of the near future. He thus suggested to shift the focus to expanding stainless consumption from investing, the domestic demand especially.
Mr. Wu advised that “We should, above all, cement the existing market, and then actively broaden it. First, popularize stainless articles' consumption in rural areas and raise that in the richer regions; additionally, meet demand from the expanding industries & manufacturing sectors, such as power generation, petrochemical, IT, automobile and shipbuilding etc, as well as construction. Thirdly, try to open up the potential markets.”
In 2006, China's apparent stainless steel consumption and output both topped the list across the world and among the 10 million tonne capacities, Taigang, Baosteel, ZPSS and Lianzhong accounted for up to 60%, representing relatively high concentration.

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ArcelorMittal to expand its steel service center in Ostrava

ArcelorMittal announced that as part of its development strategy in Central & Eastern Europe, it would invest in a new cut to length line for hot rolled coils at Ostrava in Czech Republic. The line, which will cost USD 18 million will start operating mid 2008. This equipment will be located next to the two cut to length lines which already operate in Ostrava, taking the de coiling capacity to a total of 400,000 tonnes.
With a processing capacity of 250,000 tonnes per year, this facility will strengthen the existing network of ArcelorMittal's steel service center operations located in Poland at Cracow , Bytom and Walbrzych with the recently acquired TBS facility and Slovakia at Senica as well as its existing operations in Ostrava.
Mr. Philippe Darmayan, CEO of ArcelorMittal Steel Solutions and Services, and Vijay Bhatnagar CEO for Eastern Europe, declared, “This project is another key element of our strategic development plan in Central and Eastern Europe, as part of our drive towards quality and service leadership."

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