Beltrame’s Romanian unit overhauls hot rolling mill

Beltrame’s Romania-based Donalam plant is investing €11.3 million ($13.3m) into modernising its hot rolling mill, thereby reducing carbon emissions by -40% and improving competitiveness of steel bars produced, the Italian firm says.

The investment in the Calarasi-based plant will be made from own funds and is expected to be completed by 2022.

The new technology will consist of a reheating furnace, electrical drivers and water treatment system with a production capacity of 120 tonnes/hour. This has high flexibility for round and square sections from continuous casting or ingot up to 700mm diameter, Beltrame says.

The upgrade will reduce gas consumption by up to -40%, or 2.4 million m3/year, and result in thermic energy savings of over 27,300 MWh/year and electricity savings of over 1,300 MWh/year. It will reduce the amount of steel wasted in the production process by about 1,440 tonnes/year. CO2 emissions will fall by almost 5,000 t/y.

“We had planned this investment within the group before the European Parliament approved ‘The Green Deal’, a project that obliges Member States to major investments so that, by 2050, the EU becomes climate neutral,” says Donalam Calarasi chief executive Carlo Beltrame.

“In addition to the investment of 11.3 million euros, already ongoing implemented, we are analysing a much larger investment of over 100 million euros to change the paradigm of the steel industry, considered for a long time, extremely polluting,” he continues. “We have the ambition to have in a few years in Romania the most ‘green’ steel plant in Europe.”

Earlier this year Donalam completed a €4m investment into a special steel bar treatment line, allowing the company to offer steel bar products with increased added value (see Kallanish passim).

Donalam produces 8-320mm diameter round bar for use in oil & gas, agricultural machinery and equipment, large mechanical equipment and hydraulic equipment. The firm had a turnover of €78m and sales of 106,000 tonnes in 2019. It distributes its product throughout Europe through partnerships with Germany’s GMH and Austria’s voestalpine. Feedstock is imported from Germany.