Beltrame Romania to build eco-friendly longs mill

Merchant bar maker Beltrame will build an eco-friendly rebar and wire rod mill in Romania that will significantly cut greenhouse gases and suspended dust particle emissions. The facility will be built around the concept of a circular economy, minimising waste and water consumption through a treatment and recirculation system.

Kallanish learns from the company that the greenfield investment will be around €300 million ($354). A feasibility study is under way for the rolling mill, which will include a 100MW photovoltaic park.

The new facility will have a yearly production capacity of approximately 600,000 tonnes of rebar and wire rod, generating 250 new direct jobs locally and almost 1,000 indirect jobs.

“The challenge of the steel industry is to align with the environmental objectives set by the EU Green Deal, although the zero-emission or ‘green steel’ target is impossible to be achieved with existing technology,” says AFV Beltrame country manager in France and Romania Carlo Beltrame.

“I think today greenwashing is very common, with the simple result of inflating the word ‘green’ and/or zero-emission. The project developed by Beltrame Group will establish unprecedented progress in the steel industry due to the design and innovative technologies, which make it possible to minimise pollutant emissions generated during production activity,” he continues. “Through this investment, the group shows its commitment to achieving environmental goals and harnessing local resources.”

The new plant will boost domestic production, improving the country’s trade balance. The Romanian construction sector’s rebar and wire rod consumption is expected to increase over the next decade thanks to private and public investments in the country’s infrastructure. Current consumption from the construction industry is between 1.4-1.5 million tonnes/year. Romania is a net rebar importer.

Beltrame owns the bar and speciality steel Donalam Călărași plant. This supplies hot-rolled bars for use in oil & gas, agricultural machinery and equipment, large mechanical equipment and hydraulic equipment.

This year, Donalam is expected to double its turnover compared to 2019, reaching €130 million ($153.4m). The company sells about 120,000t of steel bars annually.

Natalia Capra France