Day: 29 September 2020

German steel service centre Schütz GmbH in Selters, North Rhine Westphalia, has commissioned a new slitting line and cut-to-length line for high-strength steel strip.

Both processing lines were supplied and commissioned by Heinrich Georg Maschinenfabrik. The new slitting line – a replacement of an older one and a key asset of the facility – slits high-grade strip which has to comply with extremely exacting surface quality specifications, the plantbuilder tells Kallanish.

The line, among other things, produces slit strip that is processed into protective sheet and boxes for packaging solutions manufactured by Schütz, for intermediate bulk containers (IBC), for example. It can produce a maximum of 40 slit coils from up to 1,840mm wide and up to 4mm thick strip. It can process strips with strengths of up to 1,400 N/mm².

The cut-to-length features a high-capacity leveller with automatic cartridge change system and an eccentric shear which cuts continuously, in other words without a looping pit. It is designed to cut sheets between 500 and 6,000mm in length from strip between 0.4 and 3mm thickness and between 400 and 1,650mm width. The line speed is up to 80 m/minute in automatic mode. It can handle strip strengths of up to 800 N/mm².

ArcelorMittal’s decision to sell nearly all its US integrated steelmaking operations to Cleveland-Cliffs is a repositioning of the company’s assets, not a strategic repositioning of the company’s market presence, ArcelorMittal president and CFO Aditya Mittal said Sept 28.

“I think the NAFTA market remains very important,” Mittal said in a call with industry analysts. “We have divested a big chunk of our NAFTA business, but we still retain a significant presence.”

With the closing of the deal, expected in the fourth quarter upon government approval, Cliffs will become the largest flat-rolled steel producer in the US. Cliffs agreed to purchase nearly all of ArcelorMittal’s US integrated operations for $1.4 billion in cash and shares, the two companies announced on Sept. 28 in separate releases.

The acquisition does not include ArcelorMittal’s Dofasco integrated facility in Canada, the Calvert processing facility in Alabama, a 50:50 joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Japan’s Nippon Steel, or ArcelorMittal Mexico.

Roughly half of ArcelorMittal’s NAFTA shipments will be reduced through the sale, however in terms of automotive shipments it will be slightly less than half, Mittal said.

“We remain a strong regional player with the ability to grow in Calvert,” he said.

ArcelorMittal announced plans Aug. 12 to construct a new electric arc furnace (EAF) at the Calvert facility in Alabama. Once completed the planned facility will be capable of producing 1.5 million st of/year steel slabs for the hot strip mill, with the company saying at the time it expects construction to take 24 months.

“The existing assets are growing in terms of both value-add capability as well as melt capability,” Mittal said. ” In terms of slab supplies to Calvert, we have an agreement with Cliffs, where the slab supplies that exist today between Indiana Harbor and our Calvert facility are maintained for a period of five years. So in the medium term, there’s no disruption to our slab supply into Calvert.”

In addition to retaining Calvert and the operations in Canada and Mexico, Mittal noted that ArcelorMittal will retain its research and development program and innovation centers.

The deal with Cliffs also brings to a close ArcelorMittal’s ongoing $2 billion optimization plan, Mittal said.

“Going forward, look, we’ll always review our portfolio and see the opportunities to optimize but there is no plan to announce any program in the near term,” Mittal said.

The companies have identified an estimated $150 million in cost synergies, they said in separate statements.

— Justine Coyne

ArcelorMittal tells Kallanish that blast furnace A at its Gijón mill in Spain has begun operations. The equipment was halted in April due to the fall in demand stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

“The BF is operational by 26 September; the ignition process began without any problems and throughout the day, the furnace produced the first supply of pig iron,” the company says.

As reported, the restart has occurred due to the need to ensure supplies to customers during the revamping of a blast furnace at ArcelorMittal Gent in Belgium. The steelmaker will evaluate at year-end whether to keep the BF active, depending on the evolution of the market.

ArcelorMittal has also restarted blast furnace no.1 at its plant in Fos-sur-Mer, southern France as a result of the better demand (see separate story).

En el siguiente enlace pueden acceder a la edición de septiembre de nuestra revista: INFOACERO

A continuación destacamos algunos de sus contenidos:

1. Opinión – D. José López de Diego – Junta Directiva de la UAHE. 
2. Evolución del Índice de Precios de Productos Siderúrgicos – UAHE.
3. Ayudas Pymes: Tecnologías para la transformación digital; Plan Acelera Pyme.
4. Formación UAHE: Curso Sistemas de Gestión de Almacenes – 5ª edición, Curso Gestión de Precios y Rentabilidad
5. Próximos Eventos: XVI Fórum de Productos Siderúrgicos, 22 de Octubre