Steel News

Tenova Goodfellow Completes Installation at Feralpi Calvisano Steelworks

28 December 2009 - Tenova Goodfellow Inc. successfully completes the installation of a Goodfellow EFSOP system at the Feralpi Calvisano steelworks (Brescia, Italy) in 10 weeks from receipt of the initial PO and completion of the project kickoff meeting in mid-September.

Outotec Increases Ownership in Ausmelt

28 December 2009 - Outotec has increased its holding in Australian public company Ausmelt Ltd. through market purchases and now holds 37.4% of all the Ausmelt shares. As a result, Ausmelt has become an associated company of Outotec.

Sumitomo Streamlines Super Functional, Super Clean Steel Production Lines at Kokura

28 December 2009 - Sumitomo Metal Industries starts operating the newly constructed No. 2 Ladle Furnace refining facility, No. 2 RH degassing facility, and No. 4 continuous caster at Sumitomo Metals (Kokura), Ltd. An innovative new phosphorous removal furnace is also under construction, with completion targeted for October 2010.

Posco-VHPC Begins Construction on Second Plant

28 December 2009 - Posco broke ground on December 17 for the construction of its second plant, which will process stainless steel and have an annual capacity of 50,000 tonnes, at Posco-VHPC in Vung Tau, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam. The plant is scheduled for completion in June 2010.

Executive Changes Announced at Salzgitter

24 December 2009 - Ulrich Grethe has been appointed as member of the Executive Board of Salzgitter Stahl GmbH and chairman of the Management Board of Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH as of January 1, 2010. He succeeds Johannes Nonn, who has switched to the Executive Board of Salzgitter AG.

SAIL Finance Director Recognized with Excellence Award

24 December 2009 - Steel Authority of India Ltd. Director (Finance) Shri Soiles Bhattacharya was conferred with the GSBA- Top Rankers Excellence Award 2009 under the Best Finance Professional category at a recent function held in New Delhi.

ArcelorMittal Makes Executive Appointments

24 December 2009 - ArcelorMittal has appointed Peter Kukielski to its Group Management Board, with responsibility for the group's global mining operations, and Phil Du Toit to its Management Committee, both effective January 1, 2010.

Siemens Puts Continuous Slab Casters into Operation at Zhangjiagang

23 December 2009 - Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has put into operation four continuous slab casters comprising a total of seven strands within four weeks at Chinese steel producer Zhangjiagang Rong Sheng Co. Ltd.

JFE Steel to Blow in Blast Furnace at West Japan Works

23 December 2009 - JFE Steel Corp.’s No. 3 blast furnace at the West Japan Works (Kurashiki)—currently undergoing a revamping that started in October—will be blown in for a fourth operating cycle beginning in mid-February 2010.

JFE Steel to Acquire 20% Interest in Byerwen Coal Project

22 December 2009 - JFE Steel will acquire a 20% interest in the Byerwen Coal project from QCoal, which is expected to start production in 2012 in the northern Bowen Basin of northeastern Queensland, Australia. JFE Steel also will take annual delivery of 2.0 million tonnes of premium hard coking coal delivered from the Byerwen Coal project.

Tata Steel Launches Safety Mascot

22 December 2009 - Tata Steel aims to produce “injury-free steel” with help from its new safety mascot Jeevan, which is adorned with Personal Protective Equipment such as goggles, helmet, safety shoes, and jacket—mandatory gear before entering the Steel Works.

Mechel First among Russian Hardware Producers

22 December 2009 - Mechel OAO cites a report from Prommetiz, a Russian association of hardware producers, that states in October and November 2009 the two plants of Mechel’s steel division became the leaders in hardware production among member companies of the association.

Krecké Appointed to ArcelorMittal Board of Directors

22 December 2009 - In replacement of Georges Schmit, who is stepping down on December 31, the Board has co-opted Jeannot Krecké as an interim board member starting January 1, 2010. Krecké’s full appointment will be proposed at the company’s Annual General Meeting in May.

World Steel Production up 24% in November

22 December 2009 - World crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association stood at an estimated 107.48 million tonnes in November 2009 — 5.2% lower than the previous month (October 2009) but 24.2% higher than November 2008.

Köhler to Join Corus as New COO

21 December 2009 - Corus appoints Dr. Karl-Ulrich Köhler as its new Chief Operating Officer effective February 1, 2010. Köhler, 53, succeeds Rauke Henstra, who held the position until his retirement last year.

SMS group Increases Investment; Order Intake Slumps

18 December 2009 - The order intake of the SMS group in 2009 will drop to less than half of the EUR 5.15 billion in 2008. Capacity utilization has hardly been affected because the company is still working its way through a high stock of orders from the boom years.

Milestone for Posco-CSPC Accumulated Sales

18 December 2009 - Posco-CSPC achieved an accumulated sales mark of 1 million tonnes on December 16. It expects to achieve 300,000 tonnes in annual sales around December 21, which would make it the first Posco supply-chain management unit to reach that mark.

Nippon, HANWA Invest in Electro-galvanized Steel Sheet Manufacturer

18 December 2009 - Nippon Steel and HANWA have reached an agreement with Tatt Giap Group to acquire 10 and 15%, respectively, of the voting shares in E-Galv Steel from its largest shareholder, Tatt Giap Steel Centre, around the end of December.

Joint Taskforce Established for Teesside Mothballing

18 December 2009 - The National Steel Coordinating Committee and Teesside Multi-Union representatives have met with Corus to discuss the potential mothballing of Teesside Cast Products facilities. All parties have agreed to establish a joint taskforce to ensure that all alternatives to mothballing are fully examined.

Sumitomo Metals Signs MOU with Bhushan Steel, Opens Liaison Office

17 December 2009 - Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bhushan Steel Ltd. in India to receive an OEM supply of steel sheets manufactured in its Orissa Steel Works. Sumitomo also opened a liaison office near Delhi to assist its expansion in India.