Steel Mills
ArcelorMittal to Close on TK in Q1
Written by Sandy Williams
February 9, 2014
The acquisition of the ThyssenKrupp Calvert, Alabama mill by joint partners ArcelorMittal and NSSMC is expected to close during the first quarter of 2014. The company has received Department of Justice anti-trust approval and is waiting for other regulatory approvals to clear. ArcelorMittal is prohibited from looking at the customer mix and order book until they take control of the facilities. Mill production is currently at around 3 million tonnes with improvement in operating rates over the past few quarters. ArcelorMittal expects to ramp up production when they take over.
“Clearly, it’s a facility that’s capable of producing and serving very high-end markets. For those that have visited, you recognize that the principal target markets there are automotive and energy, said Lou Schorsch, CEO ArcelorMittal Americas, in a conference call on Feb. 7. “We are obviously big players in those markets already but, certainly, I think that allows us to optimize in terms of the shipment.”
ArcelorMittal expects synergies of $60 million from the Calvert operation and positive EBITDA in the first year of operation.
The facility is a very good one. I think that the people are good, et cetera, so we’re very pleased about it and confident that we can make it work,” said Schorsch.
Part of the deal for the TK facility was an arrangement to purchase slabs from CSA in Brazil. Schorsch said that “we would plan to be able to then round that out in large part with our own slabs either from excess that we have in the US or potentially from our slab-making operations in Mexico and Brazil.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
Cliffs talks DOE funding, blast furnace relining schedule
The future of two projects supported in part by funding through the Department of Energy remains uncertain.
Cleveland-Cliffs open to asset sales
Meanwhile, its Canadian operations have been hurt by the broader tariffs proposed by the United States.
As Q1 loss balloons, Cliffs pledges to cut costs, streamline operations
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. gushed red ink in the first quarter, and pledged to stem the bleeding by idling inefficient, “loss-making operations” and increasing focus on its core automotive business.
Cliffs plans to idle three mills, cut 950 jobs on ‘insufficient demand and pricing’
Cleveland-Cliffs plans to indefinitely idle its steel mill in Riverdale, Ill., as well as mills in Conshohocken, Pa., and Steelton, Pa. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said all three facilities would be idled on or around June 30. Approximately 950 jobs will be impacted, the company said.
CRU: Usiminas may reduce capex unless government strengthens protection
“The lack of effective measures to create fair competition, amid a surge in subsidized imports, is the main threat to the sustainability of Brazil’s steel industry and its value chain,” CEO Marcelo Chara said.