In separate announcements, Waelzholz said it is doubling the production capacity of its Chinese facility and has created the new sales subsidiary in Mexico to better support local customers. 

In China, the company is adding a second 4-high rolling mill, a new slitting line and an oscillator. It also is installing eight new annealing furnace bases, doubling the number to 16. 

“Our investment is clearly focused on the opportunities in the Asian market,” said Jürgen Jentsch, project manager and CTO of Waelzholz New Material.  

“We see tremendous local potential in many sectors such as the industrial, energy, and, of course, automotive industry. We can stand out here thanks to our expertise and special products. And that’s precisely what we want to achieve with the new lines: an incredibly broad product range, high standards of quality, and the ability to respond to customer needs in a flexible and rapid manner thanks to our local presence.”

The expansion will take the plant’s capacity to 120,000 tons of steel strip annually. The additional bell annealing furnaces are already in service, and the remaining lines are scheduled to be brought into operation by mid-2020.

In Mexico, the new subsidiary, Waelzholz México, S. de R.L. de C.V., is aiming to boost activity in the country. 

“The goal is to support local customers in their product development process at an early stage and help them achieve the greatest possible degree of flexibility with customized materials. The result is steel strip solutions that are perfectly tailored to both the final application and subsequent processing steps,” the company said.  

“In addition, the new office in Mexico allows Waelzholz to provide an extremely high level of service in the country, offering comprehensive local logistics solutions for the entire Waelzholz product range – from handling the entire import process to local warehousing and demand-driven delivery.”