Spanish coil processing company Network Steel (NS) has acquired ThyssenKrupp’s Galmed (FBA9) plant in Sagunto, Valencia, Kallanish notes. The facility can produce 450,000 tonnes/year of hot-dip galvanized coil. The material is mainly supplied to the automotive sector.
Thyssenkrupp could not be reached for comment. NS indicated in a brief note that it is growing its business but did not comment on the financial terms of the deal. Spanish government and trade union representatives also have confirmed the sale.
“The management of Thyssenkrupp Galmed informed us that the negotiations were successfully completed last week and that the transfer of shares is expected by the end of December,” the union CCOO says. The workers’ representatives have had no contact with NS yet, but, pending the industrial plan for the coming years, CCOO assures that employment and working conditions will be maintained.
“From the first moment, the Valencian government has been in dialogue with both companies providing the maximum support so that this operation could be carried out,” says Spain’s Minister of Industry, Marián Cano.
The German steelmaker closed the facility in November 2023 due to the significant worsening of the European automobile market and the consequent reduction in demand for galvanized steel products in Spain and southern Europe. Thyssenkrupp carried out a detailed analysis of the profitability of its ten lines and the result showed the closure of FBA9 was inevitable from an economic standpoint.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria
