Steel News

ISRA Parsytec to Install 49th Surface Inspection System for Posco

19 December 2011 - Posco has commissioned ISRA Parsytec to install the 49th surface inspection system in a galvanizing line at its plant in Kwangyang, South Korea.

SMS Siemag Starts up X-Melt Steelworks, X-Cast Caster for Maghreb Steel

16 December 2011 - SMS Siemag successfully put into operation an X-Melt® electric steelmaking plant and an X-Cast® slab caster at Maghreb Steel in Morocco. The facilities are designed for an annual production of 1 million tonnes of steel and will supply the Steckel rolling mill and the heavy-plate mill with input stock.

Outokumpu Completes Negotiation, Cuts 200 Jobs in Finland

16 December 2011 - Outokumpu has concluded the employee negotiations that were initiated in October in Finland. The negotiations resulted in some 200 job reductions.

Japan Fair Trade Commission Okays Integration of Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metals

15 December 2011 - Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. have received from the Japan Fair Trade Commission a “Notification to the Effect that a Cease and Desist Order will not be Issued,” meaning the business integration of the two companies has been approved. The integration is scheduled to be fully executed on October 1, 2012.

Posco Founder Passes Away

15 December 2011 - Tae-Joon Park, founder of Posco, has passed away at the age of 84.

Washing Confirms High Quality of Elga Coking Coal

15 December 2011 - Mechel OAO announced that a sample lot of about 4000 tonnes of Elga’s coking coal was washed at Southern Kuzbass Coal’s Sibir plant. The concentrate has qualities that rate the Elga deposit with high-value grades of coking coals.

Magnitogorsk Announces New Appointment at MMK Metalurji

15 December 2011 - MMK Metalurji, part of the MMK Group, announced the appointment of Sergei Sulimov as Acting General Director, and the return of Yury Bodyayev, General Director of MMK Metalurji, to his previous position as Director of Production at MMK.

Posco Hot Rolling Strengthens Ties with Nippon Steel

14 December 2011 - Posco Pohang and Gwang-yang Works’ hot rolling departments recently hosted a technology exchange event with Nippon Steel Corp. to discuss ideas and experiences related to cost reduction, accident prevention, and improving product quality.

JSW Steel Reports 18% Growth in Crude Steel for November

14 December 2011 - JSW Steel Limited reported crude steel production of 600,000 tonnes in November 2011, representing 18% growth compared to 507,000 tonnes in November 2010 and 5% sequentially.

Siemens to Supply Secondary Refining, Casting Plant to BMZ

13 December 2011 - Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has received an order from Byelorussian Steelworks (BMZ) to equip the factory in Zhlobin with secondary metallurgical plants and a new six-strand continuous billet casting plant. The project is to be completed in early 2013.

Severstal to Accumulate 100% of Putu Iron Ore Project in Liberia

13 December 2011 - OAO Severstal’s indirect subsidiary Lybica Holdings B.V. has entered into a legally binding heads of terms agreement with Afferro Mining Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Mano River Iron Ore Holdings Ltd. for the purchase of 38.5% interest in the Putu Iron Ore Project.  Severstal currently holds the remaining 61.5% interest in Putu.

EVRAZ plc to be Included in FTSE 100 Index

13 December 2011 - EVRAZ plc announced that it has now been included in the FTSE 100 Index of the UK’s leading public companies, making it the only steel and mining company in the UK FTSE All-Share Index.

Sumitomo Metals Develops new High Strength, Highly Corrosion-Resistant Alloy

12 December 2011 - Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. has developed new martensitic stainless steel OCTG, SM17CRS-125 (referred to as Super 17Cr), which the company claims has best-in-class corrosion resistance and strength to meet increasing demand in ultra-deep well developments.

Kobe Steel to Make Capital Investments at Three Steelworks

12 December 2011 - Kobe Steel, Ltd. plans to make capital investments of approximately 36 billion yen to enhance the hot-metal treatment capacity at its Kakogawa Works and Kobe Works and the heat-treatment capacity for steel plate at the Kakogawa Works.

EVRAZ Consolidates European Steel Business

09 December 2011 - EVRAZ plc and EVRAZ Group S.A. intend to create EVRAZ Europe, a company that will consolidate all of its European assets including EVRAZ Vitkovice Steel a.s. (Czech Republic) and EVRAZ Palini e Bertoli Spa (Italy). The new company will be led by Dmitrij Scuka, who is appointed CEO starting January 2, 2012.

Sumitomo Metals Introduces New Technology in Corporate R&D Labs

09 December 2011 - Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. opened the research and laboratory building at its Corporate Research & Development Laboratories in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, installing cutting-edge ultrahigh resolution electron microscopes among other technology.

Power on at Posco CGL Line in Maharashtra

09 December 2011 - Posco Maharashtra held a ceremony on Nov. 23 to bring power on line for the CGL plant, construction of which involved the installation of 14 steel towers and a cable network located 4 km from the plant.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih Sets New Converter Lining Record

08 December 2011 - Converter No. 6 at PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih has set a new record, implementing 4475 steel castings and lasting for almost one year without relining.

ArcelorMittal Comments on 24-Hour Work Stoppages

08 December 2011 - Willie Smit, Management Committee Member and Executive Vice President, Head of Human Resources for ArcelorMittal Group, offered a statement on the European strikes, noting that the 24-hour production stoppage is limited to the four long carbon plants in Luxembourg and two flat carbon plants in Liege, Belgium, and Florange, France.

ArcelorMittal Ostrava to Offer Voluntary Departure to Employees

08 December 2011 - ArcelorMittal Ostrava says it will not give any notices to its employees, despite the European steel industry’s struggles with overproduction against low demand. Rather, the company is going to offer “generous conditions” to those who decide to leave by themselves.