UMB Steel orders technology to revive Oțelu Roșu production
Romania’s UMB Steel has contracted SMS to provide a Continuous Mill Technology (CMT) 700 mill to enable 700,000 tonnes/year of bars, compact coils, and wire rod production in a continuous endless process.
The new unit, the first in Europe, upgrades the existing Oțelu Roșu plant infrastructure by enabling the uninterrupted production of long products from scrap by continuously feeding cast products from the meltshop to the rolling mill, SMS tells Kallanish. Process lead time from scrap to finished product is approximately 120 minutes, guaranteeing minimal carbon emissions and high production efficiency.
UMB Steel aims to meet increasing demand for sustainable construction materials, primarily supporting the UMB group’s highway construction operations.
SMS will deliver the plant on a single source basis, delivering mechanical, electrical and automation systems to integrate the new caster and rolling mill into the existing Oțelu Roșu steelmaking complex.
The electric arc furnace-based mill has been out of action since 2012, when it was known as Mechel Ductil Steel Otelu Rosu under its former Russian owner.
The new mill will reduce CO2 emissions up to 30% since no natural gas is required for billet reheating. It is designed for a flexible production mix thanks to the combination of a vertical compact coil (VCC) system for coils weighing up to 8 tonnes, a wire rod line for high-carbon construction grades produced in a billet-to-billet process, and a straight bar finishing area, SMS says.
No information was provided on the condition of the EAF or date for new mill commissioning.
Dorinel Umbrărescu-owned road construction conglomerate UMB group acquired the Oțelu Roșu steel plant in late 2024. It also recently agreed to purchase the Romania-based Hunedoara steelworks from ArcelorMittal.
ArcelorMittal Hunedoara approves sale of all assets to UMB Steel for €12.5 million
Romanian steel producer ArcelorMittal Hunedoara has announced that its board of directors has approved the sale of all company assets to Romania-based UMB Steel for €12.5 million plus value added tax.
The board cited the lack of realistic prospects for a turnaround based on available data, the urgent need to curb ongoing losses linked to maintaining idle assets, and the necessity of generating liquidity to meet outstanding liabilities as decisive factors behind the approval.
The transaction covers the transfer of all tangible assets owned by ArcelorMittal Hunedoara at the time of sale. These include production machinery and industrial installations such as the electric arc furnace, rolling mill, locomotives, scrap processing and baling equipment, vacuum degassing and ladle furnace units, steel structures, cranes and auxiliary systems, motors, bearings, spare parts, tools, laboratory and weighing equipment.
Materials and inventories are also included, covering externally sourced and internally generated scrap, ferroalloys, refractory materials, electrodes and rolling rolls. In addition, all land and buildings located on the industrial site, including the slag heap and related appurtenances, form part of the sale, alongside all land parcels owned by the company outside the industrial site.
Completion of the transaction is subject to the fulfillment of several cumulative conditions, which must be met by June 1, 2026.
As SteelOrbis reported previously, ArcelorMittal Hunedoara permanently ceased production in September 2025 amid extremely challenging market conditions. These were driven primarily by persistently high electricity costs and intensifying competition from low-priced steel imports originating outside the EU. The plant specialized in the production of profiles and angles for the energy, construction and infrastructure sectors.
