KALTENBACH.SOLUTIONS joins EUROMETAL as Associate Member
Kaltenbach.Solutions GmbH will become an associate member of Eurometal as of September 2021.
KALTENBACH.SOLUTIONS is an international company and strives for long-term cooperation with companies in the steel stockholding and processing industries. As a full-service provider with decades of experience in engineering, KALTENBACH.SOLUTIONS has succeeded in connecting the world of steel with the digital world. It’s unique strategies guarantee customers their measurable success and create sustainable added value.
KALTENBACH.SOLUTIONS develops and provides innovative web- and AI-based industry solutions to increase performance in the field of operations. Implementation is simple and inexpensive, as there are no costs for project management or employee training. Within a short time, our customers receive scientifically sound data which is used to calculate their performance potentials and to answer strategic questions.
Steel export duty extensions unlikely, says Russian official
The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade sees no prerequisites for extending export duties on metals into 2022, it confirms to Kallanish.
Russia has temporarily imposed an export duty on steel and some other metals of 15% from 1 August to 31 December, for a minimum rate of $54/tonne for HBI and $115/t for most steel products (see Kallanish passim). This will be valid only for supplies outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
Earlier, the country implemented a ferrous scrap export duty increase from €45/t to €70/t ($85/t) until the end of the year.
“Today, I do not see any prerequisites for this [duty extension], because prices in the ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy sector have begun to decline and the market has started to cool down,” says deputy industry minister Viktor Yevtukhov. “There are no prerequisites, but how the economy will develop, we cannot now predict anything, not even how the Covid-19 pandemic will behave. It seems that everything is not bad.”
“For some items, prices on the external market are already lower than ours, but we are always late; for 1.5-2 months a price gap always occurs in the growth of prices and in their reduction,” he adds.
However, unlike non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy products, prices for ferrous scrap on the Russian market are not falling, the deputy minister observes. “This is due to the significant demand both in the domestic and foreign markets,” he comments. “If we see that the price is growing and there is not enough scrap, then I do not exclude that we can offer a temporary ban for some period.”
Earlier, the Russian Steel Association said the introduction of additional duties on steel and non-ferrous metals carries serious risks for steelmakers (see Kallanish passim). Russian steelmaker MMK estimated it may lose around $150 million due to the export duties. Severstal expects to lose $250m.
The Russian Association of Electrometallurgical Enterprises (AEMP) had asked Russian authorities to postpone the introduction of additional duties, but without success.
As for Russian stainless steel exports, the additional duties will impact only a fraction, since most of them are delivered to EAEU countries, according to national special steel association USSA.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
US adjusts Buy America requirements
The US government is tweaking its definitions for Department of Defense Buy America requirements, Kallanish learns from a note in the Federal Register.
The definitions at issue are “domestic end product” and “domestic construction material.”
Domestic end products will now be excluded unless the “end product is manufactured in the United States, and the cost of iron and steel not produced in the United States, or a qualifying country, constitutes less than 5% of the cost of all the materials used in the end product.”
Domestic construction material will also now carry the “less than 5%” qualifier.
The Department of Defense is already operating under a 50% domestic material requirement unless “the offered price of material of domestic origin is unreasonable or inconsistent with public interest.”
The changes were made at a historic time for US steel pricing. Hot-rolled coil is within spitting distance of $2,000/short ton – or a dollar per pound – and rebar is close to cresting $1,000/st.
Dan Hilliard USA
Emirates Steel signs with Tata Consulting Engineers for new flat steel plant
Emirates Steel, the leading integrated steel mill in the Middle East, signed a “general designer” contract with Tata Consulting Engineers, Abu Dhabi, for its new fully automated first-of-its-kind hot-rolled coil (HRC) mill in the MENA region. The agreement aims to conduct a comprehensive evaluation and study all phases of the project, S&P Global Platts learned from a Emirates Steel statement.
The agreement, which lasts for 10 months, intends to evaluate and analyze all phases of the project, discuss logistics and environmental issues, define the state-of-the-art technical and solutions, and determine budgets and business cases, among others, the company said.
“A major developmental project, such as our new flat steel plant, necessitates having an accurate and intense study for all aspects of the project. This is extremely important for our growth plans which aim to promote our position as a leading integrated steel manufacturer across the MENA region and drive our vision to be among the top global steel producers,” said Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, CEO of Emirates Steel.
Emirates Steel recently announced its plans to construct its new flat steel products plant, expanding its wide-range high-quality products portfolio.
Upon completion, the new plant is set to boost Emirates Steel’s production capacity to exceed 5 million mt per year.
“Thanks to the latest technologies, the new plant will have the lowest carbon footprint in the region,” Emirates Steel noted.
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA), one of the largest listed integrated utilities in the region, announced a partnership with Emirates Steel on Aug. 3, to develop a large-scale green hydrogen project enabling the first green steel produced in MENA region, as Platts has previously reported.
— Cenk Can
Majestic to open service center at Nucor Hickman in Arkansas
Majestic Steel plans to open a new service center and processing facility on the Nucor Hickman campus in Arkansas to better serve customers in central and southern regions of the US, Majestic said in a statement on Aug. 30.
“The on-campus site will provide close proximity to production and Nucor’s new galvanized line currently under construction; creating greater supply chain optimization, operational efficiencies, and inevitably shorter lead times for customers in the area,” the company said.
The new 515,000-square-foot facility is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2022, Majestic said.
During the company’s second quarter conference call in July, Nucor CFO James Frias said the installation of the new galvanizing line at the Hickman sheet mill remained on schedule to come online at the end of 2021.
— Justine Coyne