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NEWS
New developments in the Steel industry
MMK completes construction on cold rolling complex
Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) has launched the second stage of its new cold rolling complex.
The complex, capable of producing 2 mtpa of finished products, will primarily produce high-quality cold-rolled and galvanised steel to be used in the production of exterior and interior car parts, as well as for use by home appliance manufacturers and the construction industry. MMK’s total investment in the project is RUB 44.5 billion, including the cost of the equipment – €490 million.
The contract to deliver the equipment for the first stage of the cold rolling complex – the Mill 2000 – was signed by MMK in July 2007 with the German machinery maker SMS-DEMAG.
Construction began in March 2008. In July 2011 the first stage of the complex (a continuous turbulent pickling line linked to the five-stand cold-rolling Mill 2000) came on line, with President Vladimir Putin participating in the launch ceremony. He noted the significance of this project to Russia’s entire industrial sector.
According to MMK chairman of the board Victor Rashnikov, “With the launch of MMK’s cold rolling mill, both Russian and foreign automakers working in this country will have the opportunity to use Russian milled steel products which meet the highest world standards.” Visit: www.mmk.ru
EVRAZ contract with Uralvagonzavod
EVRAZ plc has signed a five-year contract with UVZ agreeing the supply of metal products. The agreement was signed in Berlin at the international ‘Innotrans-2012’ exhibition.
The contract is valid from 2012 till 2017 and establishes mutual obligations for the purchase of metal and railway wheels. This collaboration between EVRAZ and UVZ will establish a transparent mechanism for determining the price, the formula for which will be tied to market indicators.
“EVRAZ intends to strengthen relationships with its partners through long-term contracts, and this five-year agreement with Uralvagonzavod is a sign of our commitment to that process,” said Ilya Shirokobrod, vice-president and head of EVRAZ’ railway products division. “EVRAZ is among the world leaders in the production of railway products, and we are sure that our products will meet the demands of our partner.”
“This strategic partnership agreement, signed by the two largest companies of Nizhniy Tagil, ensures the success and prosperity of not only the city, but the region and our industry as a whole. It will lead to modernisation of production facilities. We closely cooperate with each other and we are sure of mutual success,” noted Andrei Shlenskiy, deputy director of Uralvagonzavod, head of the Railway Equipment division. Visit: www.evraz.com
INDUSTRYNEWS
ArcelorMittal Poland re-starts major rail project
ArcelorMittal Poland has invested €58m in four projects, including a major new production line for Dabrowa Górnicza. The plan to produce 120metre rails – a strategically important project for ArcelorMittal – was re-approved by the investment allocation committee in July, after the project was put on hold in 2011 due to capital investment limitations and the difficult economic situation in Europe.
“We are currently producing 30-metre rails which have to be welded several times until they reach the required length. This project is absolutely crucial for sustaining and strengthening our market share and the completion date has been scheduled for December 2013,” said Patrick Deforche, chief technology officer of ArcelorMittal business division east.
A total of €36m is being invested in the rail project, of which €4m was spent in 2011, mainly on construction in the heavy section mill where the rail line will be installed. Visit: www.arcelormittal.com
Forgemasters wins US pressure vessels contract
The UK’s Forgemasters has won a contract to supply pressure vessel components to a large global chemicals manufacturer, based in the US.
Valued at more than USD 3 million, the contract will see Forgemasters produce forged shells, liners and heads for largescale pressure vessels, designed to operate under highly stressed conditions in the manufacture of polyethylene.
The deal builds on Forgemasters’ many years of experience in the large, complex petrochemical pressure vessel business and initiates the company’s supply into the vast American pressure vessels market.
Martin Brear, sales director at Sheffield Forgemasters Engineering Ltd, said: “Although the details of the pressure vessels contract are commercially sensitive, we are able to announce that Forgemasters has won a significant first order for highly specialised forged components, which will form large-scale pressure vessels for the chemicals production industry.” Visit: www.sheffieldforgemasters.com
NEWS
New developments in the Steel industry
voestalpine expands in the USA
IN the next few years, voestalpine will be investing more than €100 million in new plants in China, the USA, South Africa, Romania, and Germany as part of a comprehensive globalisation strategy in the automotive sector. Now the first concrete step is being taken overseas. A production facility is being erected in the USA, with a construction budget of €50 million. Cartersville, Georgia is about 60 kilometres north-west of Atlanta and is in the centre of a cluster of automobile factories. Production is slated to begin by mid-2013. When fully developed, this facility will have created 220 jobs. voestalpine, a steel processing and technology group, is continuing to forge ahead with its internationalisation plans. Currently, existing voestalpine production sites are being expanded or new plants being erected on four continents. All of these sites are/will be in close proximity to the production facilities of well-known premium manufacturers. The already existing global presence in other business sectors will be expanded to include the automotive sector of the Metal Forming division. “We are following the automobile manufacturers, especially the European ones, to the markets of the future and will be expanding our presence there dramatically,” stated CEO Wolfgang Eder. Visit: www.voestapline.com
Salzgitter Group company Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH (ILG) has received an order from Siemens Wind Power AS to supply around 15,200 t of steel plate to construct the tubular steel masts for the Meerwind offshore wind farm. In 2011 ILG was awarded an order from AMBAU GmbH for materials for the mast foundations. This new contract means that ILG will be supplying all of the steel, totaling more than 85,000 t, for the masts for the wind farm which covers an area of 42 km2 out in the North Sea.
The steel will be used to manufacture 80 wind turbine masts commissioned by Siemens Wind Power. Production of the plate, which will be supplied with seams pre-welded and dressed, has already begun. Just-in-time deliveries to the wind turbine builders in Denmark will commence in September.
These orders underscore the high expertise and competitive strengths of Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH as a supplier to the offshore wind industry, as the company continues to successfully develop its involvement in this sector. Visit: www.slazgitter-ag.com
ILVA to clean up steel plant
Italian steel group ILVA intends to invest €400 million to clean up its plant in the southern city of Taranto and stop further environmental damage in order to avoid a total shutdown.
In July, Italian prosecutors gave the company until the end of September to come up with a plan to clean up Europe’s biggest steel plant, after an inquiry alleged that chemicals pumped from the plant were harming the health of workers and local residents.
The plant employs about 12,000 workers and another 8000 jobs in the area are related. It is one of the few major industries in the southern region of Puglia. Visit: www.rivagroup.com
Sale of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe’s construction activities closed
IN October 2011, the executive board of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe decided to divest its business of high-quality steel products for the construction industry. A purchase and sale contract for the Construction Group was signed with Kingspan on 8 August 2012.
With sales of roughly €315 million in the year to March 31, 2012, the Construction Group comprises ThyssenKrupp Bausysteme, Hoesch Bausysteme and Isocab. This business unit employs around 780 people and has plants in Germany (Kreuztal-Eichen, Oldenburg), Austria, France, Belgium, and Hungary, as well as international distribution companies.
The new owner of the Construction Group is the internationally successful and fastgrowing Kingspan Group plc headquartered in Kingscourt/Ireland. Kingspan has been producing construction elements and insulating materials for over 35 years and employs around 6000 people at almost 50 production sites worldwide. Visit: www.thyssenkrupp-steel-europe.com
Ruukki wins contracts in Czech Republic
Ruukki has signed contracts to deliver the envelope for the boiler house at a power plant in Kladno and steel frame structures for the soda boiler house at a pulp mill in Paskov. The contracts are worth a total of around €3 million and are Ruukki’s first extensive deliveries to the Czech energy sector.
Under a contract signed with VÏtkovice Power Engineering, Ruukki will deliver the envelope, including installation, for the 65-metre-tall boiler house at Alpiq’s power plant in Kladno, some 25 kilometres to the north-west of Prague. Ruukki will also deliver the steel frame structures for the soda boiler house at Biocel Paskov’s pulp mill in Paskov.
“These orders in the Czech Republic further strengthen Ruukki’s position in power plant construction. Recently we have had many similar orders from energy sector clients. With these orders we can utilise the repeatable implementation concept type which supports our strategy. In this way we can offer our clients both advanced technical solutions and further improve our strong expertise in project implementation,” says Sami Eronen, SVP, Building Projects at Ruukki Construction.
The envelope for Kladno will be manufactured at the plants in Vimpeli, Finland and Bolintin Deal, Romania, whereas the steel frame structures for Paskov will be manufactured in Oborniki in Poland. Visit: www.ruukki.com
The steelmaker will supply about 50,000 tonnes of rail for the new Brittany-Loire Valley line, which will connect the cities of Le Mans and Rennes.
The steel will be manufactured in Scunthorpe, UK, before being rolled into rail at Tata Steel’s mill in Hayange, north-east France, for delivery from 2015. The order value is likely to be around €50 million.
Jean-Luc Trottin, Eiffage Rail managing director, said: “One of the key reasons for awarding this Letter of Intent to Tata Steel was its commitment to deliver the rail when we need it, directly to the job site of Sablé and Laval.”
Gérard Glas, head of Tata Steel’s Rail Sector, said: “This is our second high-speed rail project secured in the last year and is a recognition of our world-class product and service.
“We will be supplying rails each measuring 108 metres long for this new high-speed line, giving passengers a smoother ride and reducing maintenance costs.
“We’ve been investing significantly in state-ofthe-art technology at our Hayange rail mill – almost €50 million in three years – to enable us to make the highest quality rail and help us create a sustainable future for our 400 employees there.” Visit: www.tatasteel.com
Tata Steel secures another highspeed rail order in France
INDUSTRYNEWS
Erasteel increases capacity in Asia and Europe
Erasteel has recently expanded its highspeed steel (HSS) edge wire capacity in its production unit located in China. Based on the latest technology, the new production line will enable the factory to double its capacity for edge wire.
In addition to this investment, on-going projects are taking place in Erasteel Stubs, a factory based in the UK and dedicated to the production of HSS edge wire. The optimisation of this production facility, which started in early 2012, will continue in 2013 to enable the company to serve the growing needs of the edge wire market.
Erasteel is the world’s leading producer of profiled edge wire for bimetal saws. With these continuous investments, Erasteel will have doubled its global edge wire production capacity in 2013 compared to 2010. Visit: www.erasteel.com
Outokumpu breakthrough in Chinese market
Outokumpu has introduced duplex stainless steel to domestic water heaters in China, producing the first-ever duplex water heater tank in cooperation with a local fabricator Phinx. Duplex stainless steel means that less material is required while superior corrosion resistance is maintained in the application.
Outokumpu’s long business development efforts in China came to fruition when a prototype water storage tank for domestic water heaters was fabricated from Outokumpu’s thin duplex stainless steel sheet of grade 2304. To maximise their service life, water heaters should be manufactured with stainless steel. “This is a leading example of market development activities at their best. Thanks to close cooperation with a local Chinese fabricator and a number of Outokumpu’s own units and our R&D expertise, we have been able to produce a full-size prototype tank based on the design of the potential buyer,” says Dr Chang-Ching Sun from Outokumpu’s sales office in China. Visit: www.outokumpu.com
