Steel Products
Kloeckner Expands with Purchase of National Material of Mexico
Written by Laura Miller
August 1, 2023
Service center group National Material of Mexico (NMM) is now a part of Germany’s Klöckner & Co. group of companies.
After receiving approval from antitrust authorities, Klöckner’s US subsidiary Kloeckner Metals Corp. completed the purchase of NMM’s 10 facilities located throughout Mexico.
The acquisition allows Kloeckner “to significantly expand its footprint in Mexico and increase its presence where the key automotive and industrial customers are located,” parent company Klöckner said in a press release.
Additionally, Kloeckner customers will now be able to better access electrical steel, the company noted.
NMM specializes in the processing of hot rolled, cold rolled, grain-oriented and non-oriented electrical steels, galvanized, galvannealed, aluminized, prepainted, and other coated metals, serving the automotive, HVAC, home appliance, and motor and transformer industries.
The acquisition of NMM increases Kloeckner’s presence in North America to include 56 locations and around 2,600 employees.
Through the acquisition, “we will further strengthen our position as a leading distributor for steel and metal products and as a steel service company in North America in the long term. From now on, our customers will benefit from an even larger product and service portfolio,” commented Klöckner CEO Guido Kerkhoff.
Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Steel Products
US and Canadian rig counts stabilize
US counts continue to hover just above historic lows, while Canadian figures remain comparatively healthy.
Plate market sources critique mill hikes amid current market conditions
Following spot market plate price increase notices issued by domestic mills this past week, participants are contemplating the rationale behind the increases and whether they will stick. Some sources anticipate that current market conditions will shift in November and believe the increases may set a new "pricing floor."
Oregon Steel Mills lifts plate prices by $60/ton
Oregon Steel Mills has joined other producers in announcing a price increase of at least $60 per short ton on steel plate.
CRU: Construction of pilot plant for green steel process starts
Voestalpine and partners have begun building an industrial-scale Hy4Smelt demonstration plant in Linz, Austria, which they hope will become key in the decarbonization of steel.
Rig count increases in the US and in Canada
Oil and gas drilling activity increased this week in the US and Canada for the third consecutive week, according to the latest Baker Hughes rig count data. US counts continue to hover just above historic lows, while Canadian figures remain comparatively healthy.