With an annual capacity of 500,000 metric tons, the line is Salzgitter’s single-largest investment in the past 10 years, the company said. 

“The new hot-dip galvanizing line is an essential element in safeguarding the future competitiveness of Salzgitter as a center of steelmaking and the jobs that go with it, because this investment will enable us to further expand our existing high-quality product portfolio. In this way we can support our customers’ own ongoing development by offering the material concepts they need as well as the associated service.”

The line can produce sheet with thicknesses between 0.7 mm and 2.5 mm and in widths between 900 mm and 1,700 mm. The maximum coil weight is 32 metric tons. 

Salzgitter said the annealing furnace is the centerpiece of the new plant. 

“In comparison with the existing hot-dip galvanizing lines, the material will now be heated and cooled significantly faster in the furnace and reach a higher annealing temperature. These are precisely the characteristics that support the production of high- and ultrahigh-strength steel grades,” the company said.