Arvedi approaching full capacity output, seeking carbon neutrality: sources

Arvedi, Italy’s second largest steelmaker, is set to produce 3.6-3.8 million mt of hot-rolled coils this year, close to its installed capacity, a source close to the company told S&P Global Platts.

Arvedi has two electric arc furnaces (EAFs) at its headquarters mill in Cremona. The No. 1 furnace has 1.4 million mt/year of crude steel capacity and the No. 2 furnace was upgraded and expanded last year to increase its capacity to 2.6 million mt/year.

Demand for flat-rolled steel coils in Europe is booming with buyers struggling to find material at prices that are at their historical peak. Hot-rolled coils, ex-works Ruhr, moved from Eur665/mt at the end of last year to Eur1145/mt June 9 while hot-dip-galvanized sheet moved from Eur750/mt to Eur1300/mt.

In the same time frame HRC prices in Italy moved up by Eur472/mt ex-works, while HDG went up Eur550/mt, according to S&P Global Platts data.

Arvedi, which uses scrap for its production, is also planning further investments at its mill in Servola (Trieste). At the beginning of the year the company secured a Eur240 million “green loan” guaranteed by SACE, the Italian Export Credit Agency specialized in supporting the growth and development of businesses and the national economy in compliance with the EU’s environmental targets.

As reported by Platts, the investment is planned for the green conversion of steel mills in Trieste and Cremona. In Cremona the company has already used part of the money to upgrade EAF No. 2, while in Trieste it has plans to use Eur86 million for the construction of new sheet galvanizing and painting capacity.

The source told Platts on June 9 that the company has ordered the galvanizing and painting installations from Danieli, which will also construct an extra galvanizing line and a plant that will produce hydrogen to feed re-heating furnaces using photovoltaic electric energy.

The two galvanized lines will have capacity to produce 600,000 mt/year of finished products while the pre-painted/color coating line will be able to produce 150,000-200,000 mt/year.

Arvedi shut two blast furnaces at Servola, although only one was operational, producing 400,000 mt/year of pig iron. After the Servola shutdown, the former Ilva, now known now as Acciaierie d’Italia, is the only Italian steel producer that has blast furnaces.

Arvedi did not respond to a Platts request for comment before the editorial deadline. Danieli confirmed that contracts for one galvanizing and one color-coating line have been awarded so far and did not provide further details.

— Annalisa Villa