Steel producer ArcelorMittal buys fourth European scrap recycler in 2022

ArcelorMittal has signed an agreement to acquire Polish steel scrap metal recycling business Zaklad Przerobu Zlomu (Zlomex), it said in a statement Dec. 29, representing the fourth scrap company the steelmaker has acquired in Europe this year in line with its strategy to step up its use of recycled materials and reduce the carbon intensity of the steel it makes.

The closing of the transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, is expected during the first half of 2023.

Zlomex operates scrap yards in Krakow and Warsaw which last year processed and shipped roughly 400,000 mt of ferrous scrap metal. The firm supplies a range of steel mills and foundries and has also been a long-standing supplier to ArcelorMittal’s steel plants in Dabrowa Gornicza and Warsaw.

Zlomex is focused on steel scrap and has in 2022 expanded its Krakow operations with the installation of a new shredder and separation equipment and has also enlarged its Warsaw scrap yard.

ArcelorMittal said it is committed to support Zlomex’s ongoing growth.

This is the fourth scrap metal acquisition ArcelorMittal has undertaken in Europe during 2022, as the company continually seeks to enhance its scrap sourcing ability and through using more of this steelmaking raw material to reduce its carbon emissions.

“We have worked hard this year to secure greater access to the input materials we need for low-carbon emissions steelmaking,” said ArcelorMittal Europe CEO Geert Van Poelvoorde in the statement.

Acquiring four scrap metal recyclers during the year will play an important role in enhancing the company’s ability to deliver low-carbon emissions steel, and specifically to meet its target of reducing the carbon intensity of the steel it produces by 35% by 2030, Poelvoorde added.

In early December ArcelorMittal bought Netherlands-based Riwald Recycling, and earlier in the year had announced the acquisitions of John Lawrie Metals in Scotland and German metal recycling facilities of ALBA International Recycling, S&P Global Commodity Insights reported earlier.

Together with Riwald and Zlomex, these four businesses processed almost 1.5 million mt of scrap steel in 2021, S&P Global estimates.

Platts, part of S&P Global, assessed Turkish imports of premium heavy melting scrap 1/2 (80:20) at $390/mt CFR Dec. 28, up $3.25/mt on the day. The daily assessment has come off by 15% or by $73/mt from the $463/mt level at the beginning of 2022.

— Ekaterina Bouckley