British Steel to acquire Ascoval in mid-May

A French court in Strasbourg has determined that British Steel can acquire the troubled French EAF-based steelmaking plant of Ascoval in Saint-Saulve, northern France. The takeover is expected to be finalised in mid-May, Kallanish learns from a statement by the court.

The takeover brings to an end the uncertainty over the future of the plant after former owners Ascometal had filed for bankruptcy four years ago. The plant had been run as a joint venture by former owner Vallourec and Asco Industries before the sale of Asco Industries to Schmolz + Bickenbach. That sale did not include the Saint-Saulve plant, which has been up for grabs since then.

British Steel is now set to use the plant to feed its rolling mills for special long products and rails located in the UK, France and the Netherlands.

Ascoval can produce between 250,000-600,000 tonnes/year of continuous cast bars depending on the product mix. It is equipped with one electric arc furnace and in 2018 its output reached 225,000 tonnes, according to the company’s website.