In a statement, ArcelorMittal said plans call for a new continuous galvanizing line and the addition of a third galvanizing line. The project is expected to cost US$330 million and will lift the facility’s overall capacity by 50% to 2.1 million metric tons annually. The equipment is to enter service in 2021. 

ArcelorMittal postponed the expansion in 2011, citing weakness in the economy at the time. Seven years on, however, the economy has changed, the company said.  

“We currently have a market to sell Vega’s products above the existing capacity. We could be selling more,” said Benjamin Baptista Filho, president of ArcelorMittal Brazil and chief executive of ArcelorMittal Flat Carbon South America. 

The plant processes carbon sheet for the automotive, construction and home appliances sectors, but automakers account for about half of its output. The plant is one of ArcelorMittal’s production sites for its Usibor automotive steel.  

“We expect the automotive industry to have a substantial increase in the utilization rate. At the outset of the (financial) crisis, automakers were practically operating to serve the Brazilian and Argentinian markets only. The crisis forced automakers to develop alternative markets,” he said.