NLMK to invest further in Clabecq plate mill
NLMK has announced the launch of a €30 million ($35m) upgrade plan for its plate mill located in Clabecq, Belgium.
The investment will allow the mill to produce thin plate in high strength ranges with better tolerances, while reducing gas consumption and CO2 output. It will push forward the positioning of the mill as a key player in this market, in particular for quenched and tempered steel plate, NLMK says.
“The revamping of the rolling mill includes the installation of a new descaling system with two new de-scalers and the modernisation of the four-stand finishing mill,” the company says in a note sent to Kallanish. The works should be concluded in late 2021.
Civil engineering pulls EU construction out of crisis
The European civil engineering sector registered its first year-on-year growth in August since the drop caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, according to the latest data published by Eurostat and seen by Kallanish.
Overall EU construction sector output dropped -1.5% y-o-y in August, its smallest fall since the downtrend started in March. Building activity was down -2% y-o-y, but civil engineering output picked up 0.9% y-o-y.
Among the largest markets in Europe, France was the best performing country in August. Overall construction output in the country was in line with that of August 2019, therefore returning to pre-coronavirus levels. Germany, on the other hand, saw its output still down -1.8% y-o-y and Spain registered a fall of -8.6% y-o-y.