Primetals upgrades pickling and tandem mill at voestalpine
Primetals Technologies is implementing a software upgrade across the process control systems at voestalpine Stahl’s BETA 2 pickling line and tandem cold mill (PLTCM) in Linz, Austria.
The upgrade will strengthen IT security, increase system availability, and ensure that the PLTCM meets the latest standards in automation, with commissioning scheduled for mid-2026, the technology supplier tells Kallanish.
The BETA 2 line produces high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels for the automotive, household appliance, and construction industries, as well as electrical steel. According to Primetals, the modernisation will improve operational reliability and ensure long-term compatibility with the latest hardware and software.
To maximise system availability and streamline software maintenance, all automation engineering systems will be integrated into voestalpine’s virtualisation environment. This approach will streamline operations and maintenance for staff working across multiple lines, the equipment supplier explains.
Primetals previously carried out a major upgrade of the BETA 3 cold rolling mill and a 2013 project involving new pickling tanks and a complete electrics and automation upgrade at BETA 2.
Coiled rebar prices climb in Austria
Last week’s announcement of new rebar size extras by some mills has been followed by increased effective rebar offers, Austrian sources reaffirm.
The size extras were amended for the first time since 2015, with some mills simultaneously raising base prices, at least for straight rebar.
Size extras for the standard thickness of 12mm were lifted by €15/tonne to €280/t ($325), with base prices lifted by the same degree. Offers are still scarce amid the summer lull, but buyer sources tell of delivered prices of €640-650/t, which suggest a base price of €360-370/t.
The picture is more opaque for coiled rebar, given each country has a specific offer system. For Austrian customers, domestic and German mills traditionally quote an effective price not differentiating between base price and size extra. “It has been habitual for as long as I’m in the business, certainly more than 20 years,” one buyer tells Kallanish.
He notes that coil offers from Italian mills – which are still going by the older size extra lists – went up by €10-20/t last week. Another buyers tells of German offers – including the newer size extras – that are €30-40/t higher than before.
The new size extra for coiled rebar of 12mm thickness is the same as for straight bar, €280. For thicker gauges, the size extra for coil can be €15 higher than for straight bar. According to the buyer, the effective offers to Austria do not differentiate much by thickness either. Therefore, the base price portion cannot really be traced back.
Regarding newer offers for straight bar from Italy, one buyer tells of increases by €10-20 since last week. For customers in southern Austria of mills near Lake Garda, a relatively short distance, this would mean base prices of around €350. Offers to other locations could easily be €15+ more, he says.
Christian Koehl Germany
Voestalpine operates new pickling line from Andritz
Andritz has completed the supply of a continuous pickling line, acid regeneration plant, acid purification plant, and silicon removal systems to voestalpine’s site in Linz, Austria.
These plants have been integrated into voestalpine’s cold rolling mill #3 in Linz, Kallanish learns from Andritz. The plant supplier’s equipment enables voestalpine to perform pickling and cold rolling in a combined plant. Andritz supplied what it says is the world’s most modern acid regeneration plant, complying with the highest environmental standards and enabling flexible production of high-purity iron oxide.
The continuous pickling line is designed to process advanced steel grades and special materials for e-mobility. It has a capacity of about 1.8 million tonnes/year and operates with hydrochloric acid, which is recycled in the acid regeneration plant. Andritz underlines a recovery rate of almost 100%, thus making a substantial contribution to environmental protection.
“The new installation enables us to increase the production quality of high strength and ultra-high strength steel strip,” says Walter Schickmaier, business unit manager at voestalpine. The products will target the automotive, household appliance and construction industries, as well as electrical steel for e-mobility.
Christian Koehl Germany
Austria crude steel production decreases
Austria decreased crude steel production in April compared to the previous month, according to worldsteel data.
Output amounted to 614,558 tonnes, down 12.4% on-month and 8.9% year-on-year, Kallanish notes.
In January-April, the country produced 2.37 million tonnes of steel, compared to 2.52mt in the same period last year.
Austria remained in 23rd place in the ranking of top global steel producers, the data show.
Overall EU output in April was down 18.7% on-year at 11.1mt. January-April production was 43.5mt compared to 44.6mt in the same period last year.
Austrian steelmaker voestalpine has expressed mixed feelings about US steel tariffs, as the firm operates multiple sites in the US, which it plans to expand, while actual imports from Austria into the US are limited. Earlier, the steelmaker successfully commissioned the profile rolling line at its hot tube rolling mill at Kindberg in Styria.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
Austria decreases crude steel production in February
Austria decreased crude steel production in February, according to worldsteel data.
Output amounted to 510,673 tonnes, down 11.5% down year-on-year, Kallanish notes. In January, output amounted to 599,000t, 5.9% less on-year.
In January-February, the country produced 1.1 million tonnes of steel, compared to 1.21mt in the same period last year.
Austria remained in 23rd place in the ranking of top global steel producers, the data show.
Overall EU output in February was 7.1% less on-year at 10.1mt. January-February production was at 20.4mt compared to 21.5mt in the same period last year.
Austrian steelmaker voestalpine expressed mixed feelings about US steel tariffs, as the firm operates multiple sites in the US, which it plans to expand, while actual imports from Austria into the US are limited (see Kallanish passim).
Earlier, the steelmaker successfully commissioned the profile rolling mill engineered by Friedrich KOCKS. Following the completion of all work and successful commissioning, the new equipment is now fully integrated into the hot tube rolling mill at the Kindberg site in Styria.
Voestalpine recently said it performed well in the first half of its business year through March 2025 despite the difficult economic environment in Europe. Demand remained strong from the railway infrastructure and aerospace sectors, and for high-bay warehousing systems made from advanced steel profiles.
A decline in volumes was partly offset by a better product mix with higher profits, while lower sales prices were partly compensated by reduced raw materials values.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
Wuppermann nears completion of new Austrian tube site
Wuppermann Metalltechnik GmbH (WMT) has celebrated the roofing ceremony for its new production hall in Altmünster, Austria, Kallanish hears from parent group Wuppermann AG.
With a total investment of around €39 million ($42m), the German processor is building a new plant for its specialist precision steel tube maker unit, WMT. The project was initially announced in mid-2023 and construction work started in April last year.
Two highly automated tube welding lines and fully automated primary material and finished goods warehouses will be installed in the new hall complex. The cranes and machinery for assembly are due to be delivered from mid-March.
With this investment, WMT says it will be able to produce complex profile shapes in future, significantly expanding both the range of dimensions and the strength spectrum of its products. During the ramp-up of the new profile line, the existing tube welding line will remain in operation, ensuring seamless supply to customers.
Christian Koehl Germany
Austria’s December steel production falls, stable in 2024
Austria’s steelmakers decreased crude steel production in December, according to worldsteel data. Output amounted to 559,000 tonnes, down 5.9% down year-on-year, Kallanish notes.
In 2024, the country produced 7.13 million tonnes of steel, flat compared to 2023. Austria remained in 23rd place in the ranking of top global steel producers, the data show. Overall EU output in December was 7.2% more on-year at 9.6mt.
In 2024, steel production was 2.6% higher on-year at 129.5mt.
Austrian steelmaker voestalpine has successfully commissioned the profile rolling mill engineered by Friedrich KOCKS (see separate story). Following the completion of all work and successful commissioning, the new equipment is now fully integrated into the hot tube rolling mill at the Kindberg site in Styria.
Voestalpine recently said it performed well in the first half of its business year through March 2025 despite the difficult economic environment in Europe. Demand remained strong from the railway infrastructure and aerospace sectors, and for high-bay warehousing systems made from advanced steel profiles.
The group’s revenue in H1 reached €8 billion ($8.32 billion), which is 5.5% or around €500 million below the comparative period in the first half of 2023/24. Ebitda decreased by 20.5% y-o-y to €718m and was influenced by negative one-off effects including the sale of its Buderus Edelstahl subsidiary and closure of automotive operations in Germany.
The decline in volumes was partly offset by a better product mix with higher profits, while lower sales prices were partly compensated by reduced raw materials values.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
Austria continues to increase steel production in November
Austria’s steelmakers increased crude steel production in November compared with the previous month, according to worldsteel data.
Output amounted to 562,260 tonnes, up by 4.5% from October but flat year-on-year, Kallanish notes.
Austria remained in 23rd place in the ranking of top global steel producers, the data show.
In January-November, the country produced 6.57 million tonnes of steel, flat on-year.
Overall EU output in November was 1.7% more on-year at 10.68mt.
In the first 11 months of the year, steel production was 4.6% higher on-year versus the same period in 2023 at 119.9mt.
Austrian steelmaker voestalpine recently said it performed well in the first half of its business year through March 2025 despite the difficult economic environment in Europe. Demand remained strong from the railway infrastructure and aerospace sectors, and for high-bay warehousing systems made from advanced steel profiles.
The group’s revenue in H1 reached €8 billion ($8.3 billion), which is 5.5% or around €500 million below the comparative period in the first half of 2023/24. Ebitda decreased by 20.5% y-o-y to €718m and was influenced by negative one-off effects including the sale of its Buderus Edelstahl subsidiary and closure of automotive operations in Germany.
The decline in volumes was partly offset by a better product mix with higher profits, while lower sales prices were partly compensated by reduced raw materials values.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
Andritz to modernize voestalpine’s hot-dip galvanizing line in Linz
Andritz has received an order from voestalpine to modernise the electrical and automation systems of a hot-dip galvanizing line at the steel mill in Linz, Austria.
The processing line has been continuously modernised since it began operations in 1973. Over the years, numerous rebuilds and upgrades have resulted in the use of a variety of electrical and automation systems, Kallanish understands.
The technology supplier says it will replace this variety with a unified, consistent, and user-friendly electrical and automation system that supports efficient operation. To minimise the impact on production, it will implement the modernisation in several stages, with completion scheduled for the end of 2028.
The order underscores the long-standing cooperation between the two Austrian groups, Andritz notes.
Christian Koehl Germany
Nippon Steel Trading strengthens European presence with new London office
Nippon Steel Trading Corporation announces the establishment of a new London office, operating under Nippon Steel Trading Austria GmbH. The office officially opened its doors in November 2024.
This strategic move positions Nippon Steel Trading closer to key customers in Western and Northern Europe. London’s status as a major European hub allows for efficient and rapid service across the region.
The London office will play a vital role in bolstering sales within promising sectors like renewable energy, hydrogen, and other decarbonization technologies. Additionally, they will focus on high-performance materials for the aviation industry.
The London office will be led by Hayato Tsuchiya, who also serves as President of Nippon Steel Trading Austria. Kohtaroh Morioka will assume the role of Office Representative.
Source: nst.nipponsteel.com
