ArcelorMittal Germany acquires bright steel producer

ArcelorMittal has expanded its presence in Germany by acquiring bright steel bar maker Dortmunder Blankstahl located in the Ruhr area, ArcelorMittal Germany said May 10.

The plant produces drawn bright steel rounds, squares or hexagonal products, tool steel and wire on nine drawing lines. The total production area is 70,000 sq m. The plant mainly caters to the automotive industry.

The company will be integrated into the ArcelorMittal Group as ArcelorMittal Dortmund.

ArcelorMittal Germany is Germany’s second biggest steel producer after Thyssenkrupp Steel and has four main production sites in the country, producing 8 million mt of crude steel per year.

These include two integrated flat steel production sites in Bremen and Eisenhuttenstadt as well as two long steel production sites in Hamburg and Duisburg. In addition, the group maintains ArcelorMittal Construction in Sandersdorf, a production site for sandwich panels.

ArcelorMittal said in its Q1 results statement May 6 that strong automotive demand is expected to drive apparent steel consumption in Europe, forecast to grow within a range 7.5%-9.5% in 2021.

— Laura Varriale