Colakoglu to reach 4.5 million mt HRC output capacity in Q1 2023: report

Major Turkish steelmaker Colakoglu aims to complete its project to increase hot-rolled coil production capacity by 50% to 4.5 million mt in the first quarter of 2023, according to its sustainability report published Dec. 15.

Colakoglu also aims to raise output of special steel grades like Interstitial Free steel, high-strength steels and stainless steels.

The company has been producing special grades of stainless sheet since October 2020, with its vacuum oxygen decarburization plant supplied by Primetals Technologies having achieved a record heat size of 298.2 mt in April and reaching a record carbon content of 5 ppm after decarburization.

Colakoglu operates an electric arc furnace mill in Dilovasi, which makes slabs for a hot rolling mill and billets for producing rebar.

It currently has a bar output capacity of 622,000 mt/year, and HRC production capacity of 3 million mt/year.

With projects ongoing at Colakoglu, Tosyali and Icdas, Turkey’s installed HRC output capacity is expected to exceed 25 million mt/year in a few years, reducing its need to import HRC, according to sources.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed Turkish-domestic HRC at $650/mt FOB Dec. 9, down around $600/mt from mid-March prices.

— Cenk Can