ArcelorMittal has inaugurated a new furnace at its Gent plant, enabling the mill to galvanise the latest generation of advanced high-strength steels.
The new furnace was built with an investment of some €65 million ($73m). Overall, the company has invested over €250m in Belgium to produce this new steel, including the “Fortiform” quality, a new high-tech product for cold forming.
“Car parts made with Fortiform steel are 10-20% lighter, more economical and therefore better for the environment. This way we are helping our automotive customers reduce emissions from passenger cars to 95 grams of CO2 per kilometre by 2020. In addition, cars made with Fortiform are also safer in the event of a car crash,” ArcelorMittal says in a note sent to Kallanish.
As reported at the beginning of this year, ArcelorMittal Gent changed the rolling stands at its hot-rolling mill. The new furnace is the final part of the investment chain.
