German steel producer Salzgitter will upgrade its platemaking facilities to anneal and further process 200,000 tonnes per year of heavy plates by 2020, the company has announced.
The investment will boost the availability of plate suitable for high-wear uses including the construction of offshore wind turbines and pressure vessels, among other demanding purposes.Salzgitter will invest more than €150 million ($185 million) in a new heat treatment line at its platemaking subsidiary Ilsenburger Grobblech in Ilsenburg, northern Germany, it said on Wednesday January 24.Around 700,000 tpy of heavy plate are produced at the Ilsenburg facility.Metal Bulletin’s price assessment for domestic grade-S235JR heavy steel plate in Northern Europe was €580-600 ($717-741) per tonne ex-works on Wednesday, with market prices improving due to higher slab costs.Salzgitter’s investment comes at a time of uncertainty for the platemaking operations of compatriot steelmaker ThyssenKrupp.The future of ThyssenKrupp’s 660,000-tpy plate production facility in Duisburg, western Germany, will be included in an audit by the German company and its joint venture partner, Tata Steel, in 2020.
Global Steel
Article Source: metalbulletin.com