ArcelorMittal Unveils Belgian Plant Upgrade
04/21/2016 - With the help of Belgian government leaders, ArcelorMittal ceremonially inaugurated a new EUR49 million walking beam furnace at its Gent facility.
Belgium Deputy Prime Minister Kris Peters and Flanders Minister-President Geert Bourgeois were on hand to officially fire up the furnace, which has been installed in Gent’s hot strip mill.
(ArcelorMittal has footage of the new furnace here.)
The project is part of a larger, EUR140 million investment in the integrated Gent plant, which is a pilot production site for ArcelorMittal’s Fortiform line of advanced high-strength steel. According to ArcelorMittal, vehicle parts made with Fortiform steel are 10 percent to 20 percent lighter than parts made with alternative materials.
ArcelorMittal unveiled Fortiform, which is designed for cold forming, in the fall of 2014. At the time, the company said it expected that the first assembly line autos using Fortiform would roll off the production lines in 2017.
(ArcelorMittal has footage of the new furnace here.)
The project is part of a larger, EUR140 million investment in the integrated Gent plant, which is a pilot production site for ArcelorMittal’s Fortiform line of advanced high-strength steel. According to ArcelorMittal, vehicle parts made with Fortiform steel are 10 percent to 20 percent lighter than parts made with alternative materials.
ArcelorMittal unveiled Fortiform, which is designed for cold forming, in the fall of 2014. At the time, the company said it expected that the first assembly line autos using Fortiform would roll off the production lines in 2017.
