stahlmarkt European Edition 01.2013

Steel Market: Distribution, Production & Processing 1 | 2013 

March 

EUROPEAN EDITION 

Steel distribution | Turbulent seas 

Focus on Italy | A dicult year 

United Kingdom | Stable outlook 

Montan- und Wirtschaftsverlag GmbH. 

Postfach 10 51 64, 40042 Düsseldorf 

PVSt, Deutsche Post AG, 

Entgelt bezahlt, 3018, ISSN 2191-0618

Editorial K 3 

Sabbatical Year 2013 

Dr.-Ing. Wiebke Sanders 

Editor-in-Chief 

Tel. +49 211 69936-131 

stahlmarkt@stahleisen.de 

WW K This is how some sector experts describe Europe’s 

steel market in the present year. The phrase originates 

from the word »Shabbat« (meaning rest or cessation in 

Hebrew) and many believe that the prospects for 2013 

will remain bleak. »The EU steel market in 2013 looks 

set to remain fragile. There is continued risk of supply 

and demand distortions,« according to Gordon Moffat, 

Director-General of Eurofer, the umbrella organisation 

of the European steel industry. 

WW K Steel demand in the EU fell almost 10 %, to about 

143 million tonnes, in 2012 and is set to fall a further 

1 % in 2013 (to roughly 141 million tonnes) according 

to estimates by Eurofer. A slight recovery is expected on 

the European steel market in 2014, though demand still 

remains about 30 % below the high level of the boom 

year of 2008. 

WW K Whereby the situation differs greatly in the various 

regions of Europe: while the economic crisis is still having 

a major effect in southern Europe, the steel market in 

central eastern Europe is comparatively robust. But: »The 

intensity of competition on international markets has 

risen considerably again,« as Hans Jürgen Kerkhoff, 

President of the German Steel Federation, recently 

pointed out at a steel conference in Germany. Europe’s 

steel sector is contending with high raw material and 

energy costs, emissions trading, trade barriers, and 

current or imminent adaptive processes. »Unprofitable 

locations must not be kept alive artificially by means of 

government support. Temporary surplus capacities must 

not become permanent overcapacities,« he continued. 

WW K There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel 

and circumstances will improve in 2014 according to 

Gordon Moffat: »We do expect a more supportive 

economic environment towards the end of the year. But 

it will take most of 2013 before our customers in 

industry and the steel distribution chain will notice any 

improvement in business conditions.« 

Steel market in Europe 

Economic indicator euro-zone 

Market supply, EU 27 (in million tonnes) 

65 

120 

250 

60 

55 

50 

45 

40 

35 

30 

Purchasing Managers Inde left side 

Economic condence 

right side 

Indepoints, latest value, Jan. 13 

07 08 09 10 11 12 

13 

110 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

192 

2006 

201 

2007 

185 

2008 

121 

2009 

148 

2010 

157 

2011 

142 141 146 

2012 p 2013 f 2014 f 

Source: Markit Economics, EU-Kommission, Eurofer, WV Stahl 

p 

Prognosis, f Forecast 

stahlmarkt European Edition 1.2013

4 K 

CONTENT 1.2013 

STEEL INTERNATIONAL 

6 Contentious issue: shale gas 

8 Emerging markets – the future for German SME? 

10 Russian steel producers react to market changes 

12 The steel industry: China continues to set the pace 

UK Quarterly Balance of Trade 

in million tonnes 

3 

2 

1 

All steel products Q3 2008 – Q2 2012 

Exports 

Imports 

2.2 2.1 

1.8 

1.9 

1.8 2.0 2.0 

2.0 2.0 

1.8 

1.6 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.6 

1.7 

1.5 1.5 

1.5 

1.5 

1.4 

1.3 1.4 1.4 

1.4 

1.3 

1.3 1.3 

1.0 1.1 

1.0 

SPECIAL: NORTHERN EUROPE/UK 

14 Stable outlook 

18 New solution for mould, tool and die makers 

20 Tata Steel restructures to improve competitiveness 

of UK operations 

SPECIAL: ITALY 

22 Looking ahead, Italy faces a difficult 2013 

26 Shaping the quality 

14 

0 

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 

photo: ISSB 

Stable outlook 

British steel stockholders and service centres are 

looking forward to a virtual repeat of 2012 in terms 

of business growth and turnover. 

SPECIAL: STEEL DISTRIBUTION 

28 Steel distribution in turbulent seas 

32 Steel distribution in Poland 

34 A tool for optimizing steel stock 

35 Robust 4-way trucks for bright steel handling 

SPECIAL: TUBE & PIPE 

36 New solution combines electrical and hydraulic systems 

38 New tube production line in central Russia 

INDUSTRY 

39 Lightweight solutions for a wide range 

of car components 

27 

Looking ahead 

photo: Marcegaglia 

Italy faces a difficult year 2013. Nonetheless some steel 

companies have invested in their plants. 

41 New company brochures 

42 Steel Events 

43 Advertisers‘ index, preview next issue, Impressum 

33 

photo: WS 

Turbulent seas 

How can European steel distributors be successful 

today? This was a main question at the Central and 

Eastern European steel market conference 2012, hosted 

by the Polish steel distributors’ association PUDS. 


Advertisement

6 K Steel International 

Contentious issue: shale gas 

U. S. steel industry with firm conviction 

New York (bln). The prospect of a shale gas revolution in the United 

States that promises to empower domestic manufacturing and, along with 

drilling for plentiful shale oil, assures the country’s eventual energy 

self-sufficiency, is questioned and attacked by show business celebrities. 

WW K Premiering in movie houses across the 

country early in the New Year, the Hollywood 

film »Promised Land« stirs the controversy 

over allegedly harmful environmental consequences 

of massive natural gas production 

from the vast shale rock formations from 

Texas to Pennsylvania and New York. John 

Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono organized the 

»Artists Against Fracking« Lobby recruiting 

some 140 well-known pop stars, among 

them Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Ringo 

Starr, Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, 

Julianne Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow. The 

question is whether the star power of wellheeled 

pop idols can prevent the production 

of shale gas in regions that have not yet 

cashed in on the lucrative shale gas and 

slow down the natural gas boom in other 

states, among them Pennsylvania, Texas, 

Colorado, and Ohio. 

Steel producers hope 

for better margins 

The steel industry has considerable interest 

in the outcome of the shale exploration 

debate and its consequences for pertinent 

policies and regulations. To begin with, the 

healthy demand for pipe and tube products 

used in the production and transportation 

of shale gas has been the bright spot for the 

steel industry during a time of slow economic 

recovery. 

But those benefits dwarf the prospect of 

significantly reducing the cost of producing 

steel by using cheap gas instead of coal to 

purify iron ore, the main raw material in the 

production of steel. While the technology 

for using gas instead of coal is not new, it 

was simply not feasible in the past when gas 

prices were very high. Although not all shale 

rich states allow natural gas drilling through 

the controversial hydraulic fracturing pro– 

cess or fracking, the price for natural gas is 

at an all-time low. 

Not surprisingly, steelmakers are poised to 

exploit the changing market conditions in 

the hope of boosting their meager profit 

ranges. Nucor Corporation, the financially 

sound mini-mill giant, leads the competition 

for switching as soon as possible to gas as 

main energy source. The company’s new 

750 million dollars facility in Louisiana that 

will use gas instead of coal is set to open 

later this year. Steel analysts expect Nucor to 

soon disclose plans for a second plant using 

direct-reduced iron or DRI technology. Nucor 

has calculated that at today’s natural gas 

prices, it would decrease the production 

costs for a tonne of steel by 20 %. 

Betting on the future of DRI plants and 

production, Nucor agreed last year to a joint 

venture with Encana Oil & Gas that will 

assure the steel company a long-term, 

reliable supply of its growing need for gas. 

Encana will expand its operations in 

Colorado by several thousand additional 

drilling wells over the next two decades. 

Nucor will invest 542 million dollars in the 

first three years of the joint venture and a 

total of 3.6 billion dollars over the partnership’s 

contracted period. 

Steel companies abroad consider 

taking advantage 

Foreign steel companies, too, ponder plans 

to take advantage of the shale gas bonanza 

in the United States and prices that are 

merely half of those two or three years ago. 

According to various steel analysts, India’s 

Essar Global Ltd. considers a DRI project in 

Minnesota and Australian Bluescope Steel a 

DRI plant in Ohio. 

While more than a dozen shale-rich U.S. 

states allow fracking technology for the 

drilling of shale oil, others, like Vermont and 

New Jersey and New York banned this 

method because of environmental concerns. 

The state of New York is considering 

lifting the ban and participating in the 

economic opportunities of the shale gas and 

oil sector that have already created several 

hundred thousand jobs in several shale-rich 

states. But as the decision drew close in late 

2012 and early this year, Yoko Ono and her 

stepson Sean Lennon went to the state’s 

capitol Albany to press their passionate antifracking 

campaign on the home court of the 

state’s legislature and governor. 

To begin with, they delivered 50 boxes of 

what they said were more than 200,000 

anti-drilling petitions to the state’s Department 

of Environmental Conservation. In an 

op-ed article that was published in several 

newspapers, Ono wrote: »My husband John 

Lennon and I bought a beautiful farm in 

rural New York more than 30 years ago. Like 

the rest of the state, this peaceful farming 

community is threatened by fracking for 

gas. Governor Cuomo, please don’t frack 

New York. Don’t allow our beautiful landscapes 

to be ruined, or our precious and 

famous clean water be dirtied.« But Ono 

did not just plead, she also threatened if 

hydraulic fracture were to be approved. 

»There will be class action, and the class 

action is going to hit everybody who is 

doing this«, she said. »It’s going to go on 

and on and on…« 

Will »Promised Land« change 

public opinion? 

Apart from people in the shale-rich regions, 

gas companies, and environmentalists, 

there has not been a broad knowledge 

about the new source of energy. Indeed, 

opinion polls revealed that the majority of 

Americans had not heard or read anything 

about fracking. A solid majority had no 

opinion or was undecided whether to 

support or oppose the use of controversial 

fracking technology to produce huge 

quantities of natural gas. But when told by 

pollsters that critics link hydraulic fracturing 

or fracking to »tainted water supplies 

and earthquakes«, nearly three of five 

respondents opted for the »more regulation« 

response category. 


The question is whether public opinion will change significantly as 

a result of »Promised Land«, a Hollywood movie that has been 

hailed as helping a noble environ mental protection cause and 

condemned as misinformation and anti-fracking propa ganda. 

Written by and starring Matt Damon and John Krasinski, the film 

focuses on the ways small town landowners are pressured by clever 

gas company salesmen to cash in on their shale rock properties – 

regardless of the environmental impact on their communities. 

Playing more on the emotions of people in an economically deprived 

Pennsylvania town than on a scientific exploration of what is known 

about fracking technology, the movie was harshly criticized by the 

energy lobby. »Energy In Depth«, an industry public rations group, 

launched a web site »The Real Promised Land« with what are called 

the real stories about real Americans in shale-rich regions. And the 

pro-fracking Marcellus Shale Coalition ran ads in movie houses in 

Pennsylvania to counter »Promised Land« by inviting audi ences to 

get answers about the shale controversy on its web site. 

As »Promised Land« was shown in hundreds of movie houses 

across America, a documentary titled »FrackNation« had a single 

showing in a single New York City cinema. Written and co-directed 

by inves tigative journalist Pelim McAlleer, the low-cost »FrackNation« 

challenges the argu ments of anti-fracking environmentalists as 

»misinformation and misrepresentation« about the true nature of 

hydraulic fracturing. 

Ultimately, the economic self-interest of New York and other 

states may follow the example of the shale oil boom elsewhere and 

trump the concerns of environmentalists and the star power of Matt 

Damon and Yoko Ono and their peers. 

(EE 130104858) K 

L STEEL IN BRIEF 

THYSSENKRUPP NIROSTA NOW 

OUTOKUMPU NIROSTA 

Krefeld. ThyssenKrupp Nirosta GmbH is now operating under the name 

Outokumpu Nirosta GmbH. Outokumpu announced the completion of the 

Inoxum transaction and resulting merger with the former ThyssenKrupp 

division, which also included ThyssenKrupp Nirosta, on 28 December 2012. 

Adding Outokumpu to the name clearly highlights the affiliation to the 

Finnish company. The retention of the Nirosta name symbolises the origins 

of the Krefeld-based stainless steel manufacturer. The abbreviation stands 

for »nichtrostender Stahl« (or stainless steel in English) and was registered 

as a trademark over 90 years ago. »There are better market opportunities 

for the long-established company Nirosta within the new combined 

Outokumpu Group«, explained Dr. Ulrich Albrecht-Früh, President of the 

Stainless Coil EMEA business area. »For example, we will be able to offer 

our customers an even broader range of product qualities, dimensions and 

surfaces«, he added. 

Within the new group, Outokumpu Nirosta will be part of the Stainless 

Coil EMEA business area. This covers activities for stainless steel products 

in the Europe, Middle East and Africa and ferrochrome activities worldwide. 

(EE 130104866) K 



Emerging markets – 

the future for German SME? 

A critical look at China and India 

Frankfurt (us). As the mature economies increasingly face changing 

demographics and slower growth, many small- and medium sized 

companies (SME) are looking towards new possibilities in emerging 

markets. During the Dow Jones Steel Day last year, Ralf Maier, Managing 

Director of MADEMA group, analyzed the opportunities and threats that 

steel companies are about to encounter in China and India – and the 

impact the two countries have on Europe. 

WW K »China and India have nearly the 

same population. Apart from that, the two 

countries share hardly any common traits«, 

Maier said at the start of his presentation. 

He then started with a view on China and 

discarded the idea that we may soon be 

overrun by Chinese steel imports. »About 

90 % of Chinese steel production is needed 

within China to fuel further growth«, Maier 

stated. However, Chinese steel producers 

also have problems as they are facing higher 

costs for iron ore and energy that cannot be 

» 

We 

won‘t be overrun 

by Chinese steel. 

rolled over to domestic buyers. He added 

that the number of Chinese steel producers 

is bound to shrink from some 800 today to 

around 200 in the near future due to 

consolidation driven by the state. 

Maier also gave another reason why 

China as an exporter should not be feared 

too much. On the world market, a certain 

quality is automatically expected by the 

customer. Additionally, competition in a 

globalized market works mainly on price. In 

this respect, Chinese exports have suffered 

during the euro crisis, Maier explained. 

Furthermore, imports into the eurozone 

depend on exchange rates. 

Huge growth through Chinese 

urbanization 

Nearly half of the Chinese population, about 

600 million people, are already living in 

cities, Maier said. By 2030, the rate of 

urbanization in China could even reach 

more than 80 %. To achieve this goal, China 

has to double the number of cities with 

more than 1 million inhabitants from around 

120 to more than 240. New cities will be 

predominantly built as greenfield developments 

within the country, to take pressure 

from the agglomerations at the coastline, 

according to Maier‘s analysis. As urban 

population needs significantly more steelbased 

products than rural population, the 

growth opportunities are enormous. 

India is in a different league 

India‘s GDP growth is lower than that of 

China, but its population growth is much 

higher. As a result, the overall development 

in India moves at a significantly slower pace. 

Nevertheless, there are huge opportunities 

for steel-using companies, Maier said. For 

example, India still has the lowest per-capita 

use of stainless steel in the world. 

Although India will experience a huge 

urbanization wave by 2030, the country‘s 

problems are completely different from 

those in China, Maier said. India suffers 

from a lack of infrastructure which means 

that many of its metropolitan areas are 

facing traffic collapse. The money that India 

wants to spend in the next few years to 

address these problems will hardly be 

enough. In this respect, there could be room 

for specialized products from mature 

economies, for example for innovative 

parking systems. However, in the Indian 

construction market only private projects are 

suitable for European companies, in Maier‘s 

view, due to the high price sensitivity of 

publicly funded projects. 

Strategies for success 

Basically, European companies have a good 

chance to be successful in emerging markets 

by offering a unique product which brings 

added value. Although India has severe 

development backlogs in some parts, it is on 

a European level in others – for example 

when it comes to environmental protection 

for newly built plants, even though old 

plants are often allowed to operate below 

these standards. On the other hand, the 

country is riddled with daily power cuts, a 

lack of sewer systems and inappropriate 

fresh water supply – good chances for 

» 

The 

companies active in components for these 

kinds of infrastructure. And the demand is 

huge: Maier estimated the yearly public 

investment need for communal fresh water 

supply in India at some 2.5 billion euros. 

However, a European company should be 

aware that it can only catch a small fraction 

of the highly-priced market with high-end 

products. To gain access to a bigger market, 

companies from mature economies have to 

downgrade their products and to tailor 

them to local needs. Lower steel grades for 

kitchenware are one example, Maier said. 

Another one would be washing machines in 

which the water can be filled by hand – for 

areas where no water line is available. The 

market opportunities are there. »China and 

India will be the export drivers for steelusing 

SMEs in the future«, Maier drew his 

conclusion. 

www.madema-group.com 

/ 

Indian elephant 

is not running, it is moving. 

(EE 130104382) K 


Steel International K 9 

Continued success in 2012 

Gelsenkirchen. BEPRO Blech und Profilstahl Handelsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, based in Gelsenkirchen, 

succeeded in sustaining its position in spite of the difficult market environment in 2012. The company achieved 

good operational results despite the current problems and uncertainties on the market. 

WWK In those markets that BEPRO considered 

posed special risks in view of their development 

it reduced its business activities and 

put security and risk procurement before 

further business volume. 

BEPRO sold its premises in Essen this year, 

and will concentrate its stock capacities in 

Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck. After completion 

of construction work, BEPRO will have more 

than 30,000 m² for storage purposes and 

about 900 m² of office space. Customers 

will therefore be offered improved operating 

efficiency, service, customer orientation and 

material availability. 

In order to maintain its excellent reputation 

as a flexible expert in steel specialities, 

BEPRO is planning to enlarge its product 

and storage range by adding additional 

products. Customers will be able to obtain 

materials from BEPRO that would otherwise 

be difficult, or even impossible, to find 

elsewhere. 

The economic slowdown and falling 

prices may result in a structural change in 

production or trade sectors. Nevertheless, 

despite the restricted economy, BEPRO 

remains optimistic regarding its own 

national and international opportunities as 

a medium-sized company in coming years. 

The company remains well positioned, and 

will grow further when the steel trade and 

market recover. BEPRO will then be able to 

achieve its target of selling over 100,000 

tonnes of steel products a year. 

2013 started better than expected for 

BEPRO. Nevertheless, it is currently impossible 

to predict future developments. 

Increasing financial insecurities, the euro 

crisis, poor steel demand, insufficient prices 

and a flagging worldwide economy could 

lead to poor prospects. 

/ 

BEPRO Blech und Profilstahl 

Handelsges. mbH & Co. KG 

Ahlmannshof 5 

45889 Gelsenkirchen 

Germany 

phone +49 209 98251-10 

www.bepro.de 

(EE 130104880) K 



Russian steel producers react 

to market changes 

By Vladimir Kovalev (VK) 

In reaction to falling steel demand on international markets, and 

particularly in Europe, Russian producers started suspending their European 

production facilities at the end of last year, a trend that is likely to persist 

during 2013 given the continuing economic difficulties in the region. 

WW K At the same time, closure of selected 

steel production lines in Europe stimulates 

sales and maintains steel prices on the 

European markets, creating additional 

advantages for Russian producers, such as 

Severstal, whose attention could shift to 

Asian markets, currently gaining in 

importance. 

The Evraz Group was one of the first to 

cut back after suspending steel production 

at its Vitkovice steelworks in the Czech 

Republic in December 2012 for about two 

weeks, a decision that came shortly after 

Mechel stopped selected production lines in 

Romania in November. The market subsequently 

expected Russia’s NLMK to close 

its Belgian site at La Louviere after the 

company announced that it was involved in 

negotiations with local labour unions on 

proposals to restructure the plant. 

Evraz Vitkovice Steel (EVS) is the biggest 

steel producer in the Czech Republic. »We 

took the step in order to optimise steel 

stocks in response to low demand«, 

according to a statement in December by 

Yakomir Kirisica, head of EVS, quoted in the 

Russian business journal Expert.ru. 

The operations of Evraz’s plant in the 

Czech Republic have been affected by a 

number of factors, including lower demand. 

In late December, the company announced 

that it had reached an agreement with 

ArcelorMittal to resume deliveries of pig 

iron, enabling the site to resume production 

during the first half of January. This appears 

to have been the main reason for having 

suspended production. The plant is one of 

Europe’s biggest producers of thick rolled 

steel and the largest in the Czech Republic. 

»All EVS operations are running now«, 

Krisica told »stahlmarkt« shortly after the 

plant resumed operations in January. »The 

reason for the restart was an agreement on 

the supply of pig iron by ArcelorMittal 

Ostrava (AMO) for the period of January and 

February 2013.« 

At the same time, activity at the plant in 

Czech Republic could still be affected by 

complications over the receipt of the carbon 

credits required for operation from January 

1, 2013, according to remarks by Dimitry 

Scuka, the EVS Chairman, sent to »stahlmarkt« 

by the company’s press service. 

»Based on all the information available, the 

carbon credits have still not been received 

due to the refusal of individual EU institutions 

that insist on their specific way of 

solving the issue. The result, unfortunately, 

is that we are not entitled to what all the 

other companies are«, he said. 

Meanwhile, the general tendency for 2013 

is still considered bleak given the forecast by 

the World Steel Association regarding 

demand in Europe. International demand 

grew about 2.1 % in 2012, which is less than 

in 2011 when it was about 6.2 %. At the 

same time, European demand fell by about 

5.6 % compared to the previous year – to 

about 145 million tonnes – and would grow 

by only 2.4 % in 2013, according to statistics 

quoted by the daily. Most of reduction is 

expected to affect Italy and Spain. 

»We think that steel demand in Spain and 

Italy [in 2012] fell by 11.9 % and 12.6 % 

respectively. Germany, Europe’s most stable 

country, also experienced a reduction of 

4.7 % in 2012. In 2013 the situation should 

improve and steel demand in the EU-27 

could improve by 2.4 %«, the Russian 

analytical agency MinProm quoted Edwin 

Basson, Director General of the World Steel 

Association. 

Striving for asset optimization 

In conditions when some steel producers are 

starting to optimise their European assets 

by cutting production, others are taking 

advantage of this by filling the emptying 

niche. »The situation in the first quarter of 

2013 looks better than in the fourth quarter 

of 2012«, Vladimir Zaluzhsky, a Severstal 

spokesperson told »stahlmarkt«. Prices for 

products continue to rise in many regions of 

the world, especially in Asia. This is linked to 

the increase in iron ore prices and another 

cycle of restocking in China and South-East 

Asia, during which traders are buying up 

metal in advance for the spring construction 

season.« 

»Closure of European capacities has 

become an additional factor supporting 

higher steel prices. Thus positive dynamism 

will continue in the first quarter and, 

probably, in the second, after which there 

could be a correction on the market. But in 

general we do not expect a negative 

scenario«, Zaluzhsky added. 

NLMK’s Belgian plant in La Louviere is 

expected to face losses of up to 100 million 

euros as a result of its activities in 2012, 

according to sources in the industry quoted 

by the business newspaper RBC Daily. At the 

end of the year, the plant had to hold 

negotiations on the restructuring of its 

production lines in order to reduce the high 

production costs, which could involve 

significant redundancies at the plant in 

order to increase financial efficiency. The 

plant’s annual output is estimated at 2.4 

million tonnes. 

The situation at NLMK’s Belgian site is still 

not clear for the first quarter of 2013 and 

restructuring is on agenda, while the plant 

continues operating. »We are still in 

negotiations with the unions«, Caroline 

Marlair, La Louviere’s spokesperson told 

»stahlmarkt«. 

Veering from Europe to China? 

In a worse-case scenario, operators of metal 

plants in Europe could decide to close down 

even more production lines in 2013, as 

happened when the original economic crisis 



hit Europe in 2008, according to Moscowbased 

analysts monitoring the situation on 

the European steel market. »We don’t 

expect the economic situation in Europe to 

improve within the next few months. This is 

based on industrial production statistics 

which indicate that the volume of industrial 

contracts fell by 3.5 % in 2012, compared 

to 2011. In practice, the eurozone is 

currently in recession. GDP is falling and it is 

still not clear when it will recover from the 

current position. Germany, which is an 

economic locomotive for Europe, could not 

drag the eurozone out of its economic crisis 

by itself«, Roman Tkachuk, an analyst at the 

Moscow-based Nord Capital investment 

company told »stahlmarkt«. 

Judging by the fact that the steel industry 

is traditionally more sensitive to economic 

slowdowns in crisis periods, steel demand is 

expected to maintain its low levels, the 

analyst said, and added that in such a 

situation: »it could not be ruled out that 

metallurgical companies would go for 

suspending blast furnaces, as was the case 

in 2008. This would be radical, because 

restarting a suspended blast furnace is a 

very expensive process.« 

The current negative trends in Europe 

could force Russian steel operators to 

redirect their attention to other markets. »A 

more positive scenario for Russian companies 

could be to reorient themselves 

towards the Chinese market. In late 2012, 

this market showed signs of recovery when, 

in December and January 2013, demand for 

steel products grew – the price of pig iron 

has gone up by 80 % during the last four 

months«, the analyst said, adding that some 

major Russian producers expect international 

growth of steel demand to be about 3 % in 

2013. (EE 130104823) K 

i 

The following article can 

be downloaded from the 

»stahlmarkt« website. 

Siberian steelmaker reorganises 

its production facilities 

The OAO Novosibirsk Metallurgical Plant 

(NMZ Kuzmina) intends to reorganise the 

production of welded medium-diameter tubes 

within the next two years with investments of 

about 750 million roubles (20 million euros). 

Read the article via QR 

Code. Go straight to the 

PDF using this QR Code 

on your smartphone or 

via our website. 

/www.stahlmarkt-magazin.de/ 

crossmedia 


ENERGY-INTENSIVE INDUSTRIES 

WARN AGAINST INCREASE OF 

ENERGY COSTS 

Brussels. The Alliance of Energy-Intensive 

Industries has urged the European Commission 

to abandon its plans to amend the Emission 

Trading System (ETS) in a way that would 

increase energy costs for private and industrial 

consumers in Europe. In the face of recent plant 

closures, restructuring and lay-offs throughout 

the whole value chain of European manufacturing 

industry, the EU should avoid all political 

measures that would add to the cost burden of 

its economic base, the Alliance said. 

The European industry has been struggling for 

almost four years with recession conditions 

brought about by the financial and economic 

crisis. Unemployment has climbed to 25.3 million 

persons or 10.4 % in the EU 27 in September 

2012, a historically high level. Recent incidents 

in the manufacturing industries in France, 

Belgium or the UK represent but a few, though 

particularly striking examples of the critical state 

of Europe’s economy. The Alliance said that 

investments were much needed to reinvigorate 

industrial production and reestablish growth. 

The Commission‘s proposals now on the table 

to artificially increase the ETS carbon price would 

further undermine the competitiveness of the 

European manufacturing industry, in the view of 

the Alliance. According to the current planning, 

soaring carbon costs will be passed on by the 

power sector through higher power prices. 

However, the recent Industrial Policy Communication 

has highlighted that electricity costs in the 

EU are already twice as high as in competing 

regions such as the US, Korea or Canada. 

Increasing ETS costs in the EU would thus further 

add to this competitive disadvantage, the 

Alliance fears. 

(EE 130104549) K 

FURNACE FOR TATA STEEL 

SPECIALITY STEELS 

Düsseldorf. Tata Steel Speciality Steels, UK, 

has chosen SMS Mevac, Germany, to design a 

VIM X-eed ® vacuum induction melting furnace 

for its Stocksbridge site. The facility will produce 

high-purity steels and specialist alloys for the 

aerospace industry, a sector where Tata Steel is 

already established as a leading supplier. The 

project is currently in the design phase and is 

intended to go into production in 2014, pending 

final capital approval. 

(EE 130104722) K 

SMS CONCAST AND SMS MEER 

TO BUILD GREEN FIELD MINIMILL 

Düsseldorf. SIMEC Group from Apizaco, 

Mexico, has placed an order with SMS Concast, 

Switzerland, and SMS Meer, Germany, for a 

minimill. The plant for »GV do Brazil« will be 

tailored to the customer‘s requirements and 

offers high production flexibility. The minimill is 

to be erected near Pindamonhangaba in the 

Brazilian State of São Paulo. SMS Concast will 

supply the steelworks for the minimill, and SMS 

Meer the adjacent bar and wire rod mill. The 

plant is designed for an annual production 

capacity of 520,000 tonnes of billets and 

400,000 tonnes of bars and wire rod, which can 

be expanded to 560,000 tonnes per year. 

(EE 130104593) K 

MODERNISATION PROJECT 

AT ZENTRALKOKEREI SAAR 

COMPLETED 

Dillingen. Work has now been completed on 

the modernisation project of Zentralkokerei Saar 

GmbH (ZKS), a joint subsidiary of AG der Dillinger 

Hüttenwerke and Saarstahl AG. Optimisation of 

coke production and the reduction of emissions 

were the essential targets of the project that 

started in 2007. Following the construction of the 

new battery 3 and its commissioning in 2010, the 

totally renovated battery 1 has now also been 

successfully restarted. The modernisation of the 

batteries included the incorporation of the very 

latest pollution prevention technologies: a new 

charging-gas capture system and the installation 

of independent pressure control in each individual 

coke oven chamber have achieved a 

notable reduction in emissions. 

www.stahl-holding-saar.de 

/ 

(EE 130104627) K 



The steel industry: 

China continues to set the pace 

Is ecological sustainability a successful strategy for steel producers? 

Düsseldorf (mh). The future of the steel industry is currently plagued by 

many uncertainties. Producers face major challenges despite enormous 

developments in recent decades. During the Second International Steel 

Trade Day at EUROMETAL, engineer Pierre Mangers MBA – Metals & 

Mining Leader at Ernst & Young – described the options available for 

producers to react to the changing market situation. 

WW K Considered on a global level, the 

material steel has been enjoying a boom 

for many years. Driven by the demand 

generated by major economies, such as 

China, India or Brazil, ever-greater quantities 

of steel are being produced. However, steel 

producers in the classic industrial nations, 

e.g. in Europe, Japan or the USA, face major 

challenges. No significant growth rates can 

be expected from their own domestic 

markets in the foreseeable future. In 

addition, growing demand has led to rising 

raw material and energy costs. With 

demand fluctuating, however, it is difficult 

to pass on these increased costs to customers, 

according to the Ernst & Young 

expert Mangers. This puts pressure on the 

margins. 

Profits under pressure 

The situation would not be so bad if it were 

only higher raw material and energy costs 

that affected the margins. Profits, however, 

are under pressure from a variety of sources, 

Mangers adds: lower steel prices, rising 

employment costs, and investor interests 

make life difficult for steel producers. It is 

also becoming increasingly hard to make 

stable predictions about future market 

... how sustainability leaders are responding to the challenge 

Innovating in energy 

effective products 

Sharing corporate 

responsibility values 

Customer 

Reach 

Prioritizing regional 

to global markets 

Enhancing exibility 

in supply chain 

Enhancing market 

volatility intelligence 

Increasing collaboration 

with external partners 

Operational 

Agility 

Leaders of 

Sustainable 

Steel 

Cost 

Competitiveness 

Sustaining material and 

energy effectiveness 

Implementing 

Lean Six Sigma 

Implementing lowcarbon 

cost sourcing 

Identifying and managing 

sustainability risks 

Stakeholder 

 

Improving transparency and frequency of 

nancial and non-nancial reporting on 

performance with stakeholders 

(EE 130104840/1) 

Anticipating regulatory 

changes 

Source: Ernst & Young Metals & Mining Analysis 



developments because the markets are 

simply changing too quickly. Thus stable 

planning – a necessary prerequisite for the 

long-term investments in large production 

plants typical in the steel industry – is 

becoming increasingly difficult to draw up 

and, above all, implement. Therefore, in 

Pierre Mangers’ opinion, it is becoming less 

and less important for steel companies to 

come up with highly detailed strategies, but 

instead to prepare for a variety of scenarios 

with extreme flexibility. 

The risk of overcapacities 

China is still of prime importance for the 

development of the worldwide steel industry, 

according to Mangers. The industrialisation 

there has had, and continues to have, 

enormous effects on the development of 

many industrial sectors worldwide, 

particularly the steel industry. China will also 

set the pace for future development. 

Steel demand in China will probably reach 

its peak in about seven years, in around 

2020. Chinese industrialisation will have 

reached its zenith then – a turning point 

that will have a major effect on the global 

steel industry. But on the way there, China’s 

already lower growth rates represent a 

major challenge for the steel industry. 

Overcapacities: the enormous demand for 

steel in China has led to massive ›green field‹ 

investments in a range of large production 

capacities. Moreover, many existing production 

plants have been modernised. Obsolete 

capacities, however, have not been taken 

off the market. But falling steel use is 

releasing production capacities that are 

used for exports, if they are not closed 

down. According to Mangers, overcapacities 

in China amounted to about 30 % of 

demand in 2011. The imbalance between 

supply and demand will increase further if 

the Chinese government does not introduce 

clear regulations – and it is extraordinarily 

difficult to predict what that would mean 

for China’s various export markets 

worldwide, Mangers continues. 

Ecological and economic 

interests converge 

Energy and raw material costs decide on the 

profitability of production throughout the 

steel industry. In this situation the industry’s 

economic interests come up against 

ecological interests regarding the emission 

of lower quantities of greenhouse gases. 

Whereby, as one of the important energyintensive 

industries, the steel industry plays 

a decisive role. In China, for example, the 

steel industry is responsible for about 20 % 

of global energy consumption and roughly 

30 % of the world’s output of CO 2 

, 

according to the International Energy 

Agency, Mangers adds. Further political 

measures to reduce emissions can be 

expected in future. Even if regulation leads 

to increased burdens for steel-producing 

companies, the lower consump tion of 

» 

There 

is no planning security 

in the current market situation, 

but the freedom to plan 

for the future by means 

of scenarios – in order to be 

better able to limit the 

uncertainty of working 

hypotheses. 

Pierre Mangers 

energy would result in reduced costs. This 

would be the case, according to Mangers, 

when energy costs make up more than onethird 

of a company’s total costs. China, for 

example, could reduce its CO 2 

emissions 

by about 300 million tonnes by 2020 by 

installing modern production capacities 

designed for sustainability. 

Sustainable steel production 

as a strategic option 

In technical terms, there are various 

approaches for reducing emissions of 

greenhouse gases. Many modifications that 

cut greenhouse gas emissions could be 

made along the entire value-creation chain 

from producers to traders. While in Europe 

the minimisation potentials in production 

are relatively small – because state-of-theart 

plants are already being operated – the 

production side in other countries and 

regions, such as China, Russia and South 

America, offer great potentials. 

How does one successfully compete on 

the markets, in this situation, with steel 

production that is sustainable from both the 

ecological and economic points of view? 

Mangers advises examining the strategies 

used by other industries (e.g. the oil industry) 

that face, or have faced, similar challenges. 

Four strategic areas play a special role: 

Firstly, the customer base: The customer 

base is increased by innovations in energyefficient 

products, the preference of regional 

over global markets, and the successfully 

communicated (and shared) corporate 

responsibility for sustainable production. 

Secondly, operational agility: The only 

thing that can help combat increasing 

volatility is to function more flexibly and be 

able to adapt seamlessly to unforeseen 

events. This involves new concepts for 

organising the work steps in the valuecreation 

chain so that rapid adaptations to 

changing conditions are possible. New 

analytical methods for obtaining reliable 

information on volatile markets also play a 

role, as does greater collaboration with 

external partners. 

Thirdly, cost competitiveness: This involves 

material and energy efficiency as well as 

new management techniques already 

exploited in automobile and aircraft manufacture: 

lean manufacturing and Six Sigma. 

In addition, Pierre Mangers recommends a 

rethink regarding the low-cost-country 

sourcing approach and the gradual introduction 

of procurement strategies that are 

more CO 2 

-neutral. 

Fourthly, stakeholder confidence: Greater 

external transparency regarding corporate 

performance and particular attention to 

potential regulatory changes ensure and 

improve the position of the company vis-a-vis 

important external interest groups 

What strategies are therefore available to 

steel producers for successfully facing the 

future? Above all, the volatility of the 

markets should be taken into account, 

according to Mangers. At least until 2020, 

because then the saturated steel demand in 

China could lead to a turning point for the 

steel industry worldwide and dampen the 

heavy fluctuations in the markets. According 

to Mangers, the second important area is 

sustainable production, which steel producers 

are almost forced into as a result of 

rising energy and raw material costs. 

(EE 130104840) K 


14 K Special: Northern Europe / UK 

Stable outlook 

British steel stockholders are facing 2013 with confidence 

In a changing supply scene, where an increasing amount of steel is 

imported into the UK, British steel stockholders and service centres are 

looking forward to a virtual repeat of 2012 in terms of business growth and 

turnover. »stahlmarkt European Edition« visited the National Association of 

Steel Stockholders (NASS) and met Director General, Peter Corfield. 

(photo: NASS) 

Peter Corfield 

WW Stahlmarkt: When we spoke last in 

summer 2011, you quite rightly predicted a 

low but sustained growth for the UK steel 

trade sector. In the recent NASS News Update 

there were some cautiously positive views 

about the UK economy. Recent government 

figures bear this out, but will this trend 

continue and will it be uniform across the 

sector? 

WW Peter Corfield: In 2013, I think the 

automotive sector will continue to be quite 

strong. One of the advantages that the 

automotive sector in the UK has is that the 

vehicles produced are on a single model 

UK Quarterly Balance of Trade 


3 

2 

1 

0 

(EE 130104861/1) 

All steel products Q3 2008 – Q2 2012 

Exports 

production site basis. i.e. there is not 

another factory in Europe that is building 

the same model. These plants therefore rely 

on the demand for their specific product 

across Europe to absorb their output. The 

markets either want or don‘t want specific 

models. The models made in the UK seem 

to be popular, especially Jaguar and Land 

Rover, however all models being produced 

within the UK seem to have a positive 

response from the marketplace. 

You only have to look at the number of 

vehicle registrations in the UK and how 

much is exported to mainland Europe and 

Imports 

2.2 2.1 

1.8 

1.9 

1.8 2.0 2.0 

2.0 2.0 

1.8 

1.6 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.6 

1.7 

1.5 1.5 

1.5 

1.5 

1.4 

1.3 1.4 1.4 

1.4 

1.3 

1.3 1.3 

1.0 1.1 

1.0 

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 

Source: ISSB 

other parts of the world – I think that the 

automotive sector is now approaching 

historical highs in terms of production units 

within the UK. And that is in contrast to 

what‘s happening elsewhere in Europe. 

Some parts of Europe are reporting that 

their automotive sector is not strong, 

because they are experiencing reduced 

demand. It is also important to note that the 

UK has started from a lower point and 

continues to grow. So we‘ve got the 

opposite sides of the spectrum here. 

WW But there will be some flexibility, as in the 

case of Honda, where the manufacturer is 

slowing down a facility. That‘s of course a 

drawback of the situation that if you are the 

maker of one specific model, you will also 

have to bear it if that model does not sell well. 

WW Yes, you will, if the model does not sell. 

Honda have always tried to align their 

production to supply and demand. They are 

usually quite good at forecasting. 

The next major sector, construction, has 

had a lot of publicity and media attention in 

the year. It has stalled, there‘s no doubt 

about it – obviously the consequences of 

what‘s happened as a result of government 

cuts has impacted. Nonetheless there was 

still something in excess of 900,000 tonnes 

of steel consumed in construction in 2012. 

And there is no reason why that situation 

should change in 2013. In fact, the latest 

forecast is that it is likely to be even better. 


Special: Northern Europe / UK K 15 

UK: crude steel production 2001 – 2012 

16 

14 

13,54 

13,17 13,77 13,24 13,87 14,32 13,52 


12 

10 

8 

6 

11,67 

10,08 

9,71 9,48 9,70 

4 

2 

0 

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 

(EE 130104861/2) 

Source: worldsteel 

WW Is this influenced by the easier planning 

and execution of domestic house building? 

WW Domestic house building has an impact 

on steel, but it‘s not as great as industrial, 

commercial, retail, or in fact infrastructure 

development. Within domestic build, the 

main use of steel is on what we call »fitout«, 

i.e. components for ceilings, partition 

walls or purlins, which are all derived from 

flat products. Steel construction is normally 

a large consumer of long products which 

are processed by steel fabricators. There 

have been some casualties amongst the 

fabricators and it is still an area which is 

considered with concern by the risk 

underwriters. Having said that, there are 

also one or two success stories in there, with 

fabricators who have continued to flourish. 

But the important thing within construction 

is that there is relatively stable activity. And 

surprisingly, in the last couple of months, 

there has been a revival of some projects 

and increased activity. 

WW Another important steel sector involves 

the manufacture of earthmoving equipment, 

the »yellow goods sector«, as it is generally 

referred to. Demand has been good for the 

first three quarters of 2012. In the final 

quarter there was probably a similar situation 

to Honda, i.e. there was an alignment of 

units produced to meet demand. The latest 

view of 2013 is that it will replicate 2012. So 

it is not a case of the last quarter of 2012 

becoming the basis for expectations in 2013. 

These yellow goods, are they going to 

markets outside Europe? 

WW They‘re mainly going to the rest of the 

world markets. All major manufacturers are 

going to these markets and setting up 

appropriate facilities. JCB with their headquarters 

in the UK, are now operating plants 

in Brazil, China and India. And there are 

others that are pursuing similar activities, 

and they are supplying the goods. 

WW So whatever happens in the Eurozone 

will be relevant to them, but not decide their 

business? 

WW The majority of their activity is outside 

Europe and will increasingly be that way. 

There is no doubt about it. And obviously, 

with that in mind, hopefully they will 

maintain their plants in the UK for their 

European requirements. 

The other sector worthy of note at the 

present time is utilities, incorporating 

energy, power and gas production. This is a 

key area for our plate distributors/profilers, 

who are telling us that projects which were 

frozen or on hold are suddenly coming 

to fruition. These projects do not use 

commodity plate, but utilise specialised 

plate that has an extended lead time, and 

this has created some pressure in terms of 

availability. So there‘s no doubt that in that 

area of specialised plate, the suppliers are 

having quite a reasonable time. 

WW Will this plate come mostly from abroad? 

WW The sourcing of these higher quality 

grade plates is likely to be from Europe as 

opposed to the rest of the world. Some of 

these requirements will obviously be met by 

UK supply. 

In this context it is also worth noting that 

in the manufacturing supply chain the closer 

firms are to making things, the busier they 

appear to be. The majority of UK manufacturers 

have filled their capacities to 

acceptable levels throughout 2012. There 

are no indications of reduced activity in the 

short term, in fact I would argue that more 

and more companies are becoming very 

selective in the work they are undertaking 

to ensure they are in a position to optimise 

profitability from the capacity they have 

available. 

WW One of the trends in recent market 

figures was the confidence amongst steel 

stockholders who re-built the stocks which 

had been depleted in the difficult years up 

to 2011. Will the steel trade allow its stocks 

to run down again in view of the uncertain 

outlook, particularly in the Eurozone? 

WW I think that the economic outlook in the 

Eurozone is a factor, although steel distribution 

centres in mainland Europe are 

probably aligning their steel stocks in terms 

of supply and demand, and controlling 

inventory levels based on stock days. In the 

past mainland European service centres 



have operated with higher levels of stock or 

stock days. They are now adopting a similar 

stance to that taken in the UK whereby 

stock levels have been significantly reduced 

and maintained at levels which are considered 

to be sufficient. People are working 

more efficiently within their range. They are 

not speculating, and the majority of the 

material supplied to the market is now from 

imports, not from domestic supply. These 

imports tend to be more European as 

opposed to from the rest of the world, 

because availability, competitive pricing and 

in some cases, quality, is the deciding factor. 

So, what does it mean in practice? Steel 

service centres are operating with stock 

levels that may have some gaps within their 

range, but in the main they are operating 

with reduced levels of inventory. The key is 

that material is readily available. As a service 

centre you might therefore ask yourself: 

»Why do I want to keep this stock? It‘s 

taking up space, it‘s costing me money. I can 

buy it when I need it and in the amounts 

that I need and, in the main, I can bring it in 

from the UK or Europe at short notice.« 

WW Going by the ISSB‘s statistics, the ratio of 

imported to exported steel products has 

changed considerably. Imports of steel 

products are now much higher – more or less 

the same as in 2008 – while exports have 

consistently shrunk by about a quarter over 

the same period. Is the UK becoming even 

more dependent on foreign steel supplies? 

WW In the last four years imports of steel into 

the UK have gone from the mid 40 to the 

mid 50 % of supply. Overall, consumption 

is approximately 10 million tonnes per 

annum, of which NASS core products 

represent circa 6 million tonnes. Yes, imports 

have steadily increased and are likely to 

remain the major supply route to the UK 

steel market for the foreseeable future. 

WW Is another reason for imports increasing 

in the UK the fact that material from the rest 

of the world is being supplied to the UK 

market? 

WW Yes, steel does come from rest of world 

markets, with China, India, Russia and 

Turkey being the major sources of supply. 

There has however been a significant swing 

from RoW supply to European supply due to 

these sources normally involving longer lead 

NASS: new website 

NASS recently modernised its website www.nass. 

org.uk, which now offers an impressive range of 

facilities, including a secure members‘ area, a 

calendar of events and, of course, the extensive 

News Update. 

 

become the portal for our communication, with 

both the membership and the external world. We 

would like our website to be user-friendly, active 

and provide interest for everyone involved in steel 

processing and distribution. In terms of where we 

times, and the biggest danger with shipping 

any great volume is that by the time the 

steel arrives in the UK, it is no longer at the 

right price. Steel service centres may have 

thought they had concluded an advantageous 

transaction when ordering the steel, 

but upon arrival that might no longer be the 

case. That is why there is less being speculated 

and purchased from RoW markets. 

WW On the list of NASS members, there are 

now ten large groups active nationwide 

which seem to dominate the market. Is there 

a trend towards consolidation in the sector 

or could this be a situation where the large 

groups cover a wide range of general products, 

whereas the smaller companies act 

more like »boutique« suppliers with highly 

specialised products and services? 

WW There is no generic way of looking at it, 

but the last two major changes in the UK 

were Barclay & Mathieson being acquired by 

Stemcor, and Austin Truman exiting the 

heavy sections market when the Murray 

Group was re-structured. However, there 

have not been any casualties, the sector 

remains quite robust and this is confirmed in 

our discussions with the risk underwriters, 

who have developed an appetite for the 

sector. Yes, the bigger groups have got both 

specialisation and also have the opportunity 

to serve local markets. There have been 

announcements by some of the major 

groups to close or rationalise sites. They are 

undertaking these restructuring activities 

over a specified time scale. There is no doubt 

that there will always be a place for the small 

niche suppliers, the local service centres, and 

in actual fact, I think that this sector will 

 

facility is paramount as we seek to provide more 

links for members. We are already involved with 

the CBI, the Chamber of Commerce and the 

Health & Safety Executive. We want these links to 

create a knowledge share for both members 

 

continues to grow and will feature prominently to 

visitors to the website, whereby both professional 

and social activities can be clearly seen.« 

grow. The larger distributors are all now 

actively processing and distributing on a 

»hub and spoke« basis, whereby they have 

major facilities with smaller units feeding off 

them. Customers will then either buy directly 

from the central hub or buy locally, 

depending on what the products are, the 

frequency with which they‘re needed, the 

time restraint and so on. I don‘t think that 

there will be much further amalgam ation. 

In conclusion, I think that the existing 

groups are likely to stay in place. It may be 

that they acquire or that they rationalise, but 

that will be down to their own philosophy 

and their geographical approach to the UK 

market. In the long term, however, you 

might have fewer medium-sized groups 

going forward as the emphasis will be on 

having very large or small facilities processing 

and distributing steel products. 

WW One left-over from the financial crisis in 

2008 was the tight credit supply to the steel 

trade. NASS counteracted that by trying to 

improve mutual understanding between the 

stockholders, government and the finance 

industry. Have you been able to alleviate the 

situation, or are there, by now, alternative 

solutions? 

WW Discussions are on-going with all 

interested parties. NASS is delighted to have 

all the major players in the risk management 

sector as Associate Members, with whom we 

have regular dialogue and this has obviously 

improved communications and understanding. 

That is of particular relevance given 

that 2012 has probably produced a number 

of financial returns which were disappointing 

and gave potential cause for concern. If you 



go back in time, this would probably have started a ripple of credit 

withdrawals or led to a tightening of credit limits in the process. I 

think the regular dialogue and better understanding of the business 

scenario has certainly helped that situation. In addition we also meet 

on a quarterly basis with the Bank of England, whereby we represent 

the steel service centre sector and, in turn, ensure everyone has a 

better appreciation of what NASS members represent. 

In addition to all the things we have spoken about so far, another 

area NASS will be focusing on is that of aspects of the environment 

and climate change. In the past many people have not considered 

it relevant, but if they review the costs involved relating to the 

carbon tax they pay on their utility bills, then they might realise that 

there is an issue. So, one of our main objectives for 2013 will be to 

review the eligibility of our members to be embraced by umbrella 

arrangements which can significantly reduce carbon tax costs. This 

will not apply to all our membership, but we seek to maximise where 

opportunity presents. 

Finally, and with the above in mind, it is our intention to revamp 

our current motto »Safer Steel«. This has served the purpose of 

raising the awareness of handling and processing steel in a safe 

manner. In view of the advent of demand on the environment and 

the impact of recycling, climate change and sustainability, NASS is 

considering the introduction of a new motto which embraces these 

concepts. Hence a new motto of »Safe and Sustainable Steel« is 

currently under consideration by the gov erning body of NASS, 

namely the National Council. It is anticipated that the revised motto 

will be finalised and agreed at the AGM to be held in July 2013. 

Mr. Corfield, many thanks for answering these questions. 

(EE 130104861) K 

i 

The following article can be downloaded 

from the »stahlmarkt« website. 

Looking for a recovery 

After zero growth in 2012, the UK economy is expected to catch up 

again in the current year. 

Read the article via QR Code. 

Go straight to the PDF using 

this QR Code on your smartphone 

or via our website. 

/www.stahlmarkt-magazin.de/crossmedia 



New solution for mould, tool and die makers 

Vero Software release VISI 20 with many new features 

Cheltenham. Vero Software, a leading provider of CAD/CAM/CAE 

solutions for the tooling industry, has announced the release of their 

Mould & Die focused product VISI 20. Version 20 is a substantial release 

introducing many new features in all areas of the product with continued 

emphasis on solutions for mould, tool and die makers. 

WW K Major graphic enhancements include 

improved rendering, a programmable 

dynamic command widget and the ability to 

fast-view a file before opening to include 

pan and zoom functionality. Significant CAD 

enhancements include the ability to assign 

constraints to geometrical bodies (concentric, 

parallel, coincident, distance, etc) 

providing the tools to simulate the real 

movement of tooling, such as the ability to 

check for collisions with slides, cams, lifters, 

etc. A re-designed feature manager and 3D 

boring chart creates and edits complex holes 

and pockets as well as recognising features 

directly from the 3D model or 2D drawing 

for automated annotation. 

User efficiency continues to be a focus for 

product development, with the process 

workflow having been improved in a 

number of areas. This includes the ability to 

extract wireframe edges and also concatenate 

and simplify the extracted elements, 

remove knot points and split the geometry 

into correctly formatted curves based on 

angular deviation. Automating the process 

in this way significantly speeds up high 

quality surface creation when working with 

third-party data. 

VISI-Enhancements in detail 

VISI Progress developments include a new 

tool building engine, improved unfolding 

and new middle skin functionality for 

flanging and blanking operations. Other 

enhancements include a completely rewritten 

explode tool for 3D assemblies (with the 

ability to record the explode movements), 

improved standard component catalogues 

and continued collaboration with CADENAS. 

VISI Flow, for plastic flow analysis, is now 

64bit compatible, and therefore capable of 

benefiting from additional hardware performance. 

Other developments include new 

tools for the thermal analysis of conformal 

cooling. 

VISI 20 represents another release with 

major CAM development. One innovation 

is the ability to distribute the toolpath 

computation onto different machines connected 

to the same private network. This 

technology uses »distributed computing«, 

where the computers interact with each 

other to achieve a common goal. Each goal 

is divided into many tasks, each of which is 

solved by one computer connected to the 

network. To the main advantages belongs 

the combination of slave computers which 

can produce a similar computing resource as 

a multi-processor super-computer and keep 

the master PC free from heavy calcula tions. 


TRAINING EVENT FOR 

EUROPEAN RESELLERS 

Reading. CAD-neutral Edgecam CAM soft ware 

held the first of what is likely to become an annual 

training event for 36 of its resellers from Europe 

and India. Geared towards detailed training on 

specific developments in the latest release of 

Edgecam, the week-long seminar was the first of 

its type at such a high level. »We’re now aiming 

for it to become an annual event«, says Edgecam 

General Manager Raf Lobato. And there are plans 

for similar events in Asia and the USA in 2013. 

»Edgecam is developing extremely fast. Each 

new release contains new or con siderably 

New toolpath algorithms include an 

innovative roughing strategy, improved auto 

rest machining, new multi-axis side wall 

machining and new multi-axis roughing. 

The new roughing strategy massively 

reduces rapid moments, optimises stepover 

when using values above 50 % of the tool 

diameter and propagates high speed 

transitions and »corner pip« movements 

avoiding feed reduction while machining. 

Wire EDM developments include the 

ability to auto detect undercuts. When the 

offset is larger than the radius of an arc, the 

toolpath can self-intersect. The solid simulation 

has been enhanced to detect these 

conditions where the toolpath crosses and 

highlight these in the movement list. The 

user can optionally ignore these conditions 

or have the simulation automatically stop 

when they occur. 

(EE 130104501) K 

« 

CONTACT 

VISI/Vero – Head Office 

Hadley House 

Bayshill Road 

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire 

GL50 3AW 

United Kingdom 

phone +44 1189 226699 

www.visicadcam.com 

enhanced functionality, and our resellers want to 

demonstrate all these new aspects of it in their 

own countries, so we’re setting up these training 

events to offer them our full support.« Presented 

by Edgecam’s develop ment and support staff, the 

sessions covered the new Wire EDM functionality 

introduced in Edgecam 2013 R1, along with Part 

Modeller, 5-axis Machining, Strategy Manager, 

Custom isation and Post Processors. Resellers who 

attended the event in Reading, were enthusiastic 

about the information they received, as well as 

supporting the idea of it becoming an annual 

event. 

www.edgecam.com (EE 130104673) K 

/ 



Stainless steel spins in washing machines 

Espoo. 

WW K Miele’s washing machines have the 

longest product lives of all competing 

appliances according to independent 

German WfK Cleaning Technology Institute. 

Miele’s machines tested by WfK were the 

only ones to operate faultlessly after 5,000 

wash cycles. This equals about 20 years of 

normal use. 

Since the founding of Miele over a 

hundred years ago, Miele has persistently 

pursued market leadership, which requires 

impeccable performance from every 

component and material. In washers and 

dryers, the best and most sustainable 

appliances use stainless steel in parts that 

come in contact with water and moisture. 

To maintain their market leadership, Miele 

relies on leading material suppliers and has 

accordingly turned to Outokumpu. 

»Only the best European quality is good 

enough for Miele. Outokumpu supplies that 

quality,« comments Miele. Outokumpu’s 

stainless steel range meets the requirements 

of Miele with a full range of stainless steel 

used in washing-machine and tumble-dryer 

drums. 

After product tests and trial runs in 2011, 

Miele and Outokumpu started regular 

deliveries in 2012, with the intention of 

increasing the deliveries over the next few 

years to make Outokumpu a significant 

supplier for Miele. 

Outokumpu supplies Miele with ferritic 

stainless steel for the drums of washing 

machines and tumble-dryers as well as 

austenitic stainless steel for dryers. Ferritic 

stainless steel comprises non-nickel stainless 

steel alloys with varying chromium content, 

which largely determines the alloy’s 

corrosion resistance. Ferritic stainless steel is 

the optimal choice for a wide range of 

applications. Outokumpu’s ferritic product 

range includes all commonly used grades 

and covers the main uses of the material. 

www.outokumpu.com 

/ 

(EE 130104550) K 



Tata Steel restructures to 

improve competitiveness of UK operations 

Commissioning of blast furnace No. 4 in Talbot 

London. Tata Steel announced that they will restructure their UK 

operations in order to improve their competitiveness. Key element is the 

restart of blast furnace No. 4 in Port Talbot in South Wales. 

WWK Mid of February Tata Steel has restarted 

its second blast furnace at the Port Talbot 

steelworks in the UK as part of a 250 million 

pounds investment programme. Blast 

Furnace No. 4 was decommissioned in July 

last year before being completely rebuilt 

with a 185 million pounds rebuilding 

project. This was the UK’s largest industrial 

engineering project last year and created 

several hundreds jobs. 

The state-of-the-art new furnace has 

enhanced health, safety and environmental 

care facilities, making it a worldwide 

standard-setter as one of the most efficient 

in the world. It allows Tata Steel to produce 

up to 2.47 million tonnes steel in this facility 

from now on aiming to meet the demanding 

require ments of UK and European manufacturing 

industries. 

Further energy and environmental 

benefits will be gained from the recentlycompleted 

55 million British pounds energyfrom-heat 

scheme at Port Talbot’s steel plant 

which will save 10 MW of energy – enough 

to power 20,000 homes. 

It will also lead to the restarting of the hot 

strip mill at the company’s Llanwern site in 

Newport, South Wales. 

Concentration of 

steel finishing sites 

Moreover, Tata Steel plans changes at a 

number of steel finishing and processing 

sites in the UK that would improve its 

product and service offering for customers. 

These changes would concentrate services 

at six distribution and processing hubs 

which on the one hand would benefit from 

22 million pounds of new investment and 

new employment, but would also lead to 

the closure of 12 sites, including Tafarnaubach 

and Cross Keys in South Wales. 

Karl Köhler, CEO of Tata Steel’s European 

operations, said: »Today’s proposals are part 

of a strategy to transform ourselves into an 

›all-weather‹ steel producer, capable of 

succeeding in difficult economic conditions. 

These restructuring proposals will help make 

our business more successful and sustainable, 

but the job losses are regrettable.« 

The proposed changes are expected to 

lead to a net loss of 900 jobs in the UK, 

including 500 jobs in management and 

administrative functions at Tata Steel’s Port 

Talbot-based production hub in South 

Wales. 

»Our subsidiary UK Steel Enterprise will 

be looking at how it can provide more 

support to local steel communities and 

stimulate new jobs«, Köhler added. »We 

will strengthen this work with a further 

650,000 pounds to help them create new 

jobs in affected areas. We will do everything 

we can to reduce the impact of the proposals 

on employees and, where possible, we will 

look to achieve job losses through voluntary 

redundancies.« 

Trade union secretary demands 

government action 

Michael Leahy, General Secretary of the 

Community trade union and Chair of the 

trade unions Steel Committee, said: »Sadly, 

these potential job losses are yet another 

reason why we are calling on the British 

government to take urgent action to 

stimulate economic growth and help revive 

the manufacturing sector. This announcement 

comes after a four-year long downturn 

in the UK and European steel industry, 

where the fall in UK steel demand has been 

steeper than in any other major European 

economy. This is why we need faster 

investment in infrastructure programmes 

and community benefit clauses in UK 

procurement just as France and Germany do 

to support their own manufacturing 

industry.« 

Last year, Tata Steel launched a five-year 

improvement programme backed by significant 

investment, including almost 250 

million pounds to rebuild a blast furnace 

and install energy-efficient gas recycling at 

Port Talbot. The restructuring proposal 

follows earlier decisions implemented at the 

company’s other production hubs in Scunthorpe, 

North Lincolnshire, and IJmuiden, 

Netherlands. 

(EE 130104693) K 

About Tata Steel in Europe 

The European operations of Tata Steel comprise 

Europe‘s second largest steel producer. With the 

main steelmaking operations in the UK and 

Netherlands, they supply steel and related 

services to the construction, automotive, 

packaging, lifting & excavating, energy & power, 

aerospace and other demanding markets 

worldwide. The combined Tata Steel Group is one 

of the world‘s largest steel producers, with an 

aggregate crude steel capacity of more than 28 

million tonnes and approximately 81,000 

employees across five continents. UK Steel 

Enterprise is a subsidiary of Tata Steel. Since it 

was set up nearly four decades ago, UKSE has 

invested more than 80 million pounds in around 

5,600 companies and more than 30 million 

pounds in providing business premises. 



RUUKKI STRENGTHENS ITS POSITION 

IN RETAIL AND LOGISTICS CONSTRUCTION 

IN SWEDEN 

Helsinki. Ruukki has signed contracts with Swedish companies Nimag 

Projekt AB (Nimag) and Peab Sverige AB (Peab) for the design, 

manufacture and installation of steel frames and load-bearing roof 

structures for a Bauhaus store near Stockholm and for Ikano‘s new 

shopping centre in Uddevalla. The contracts are worth a total of around 

6 million euros. 

Under the contract signed with Nimag, Ruukki will design and deliver 

the steel frame, load-bearing roof structures and façades, including 

installation, for the new Bauhaus store to be built in the municipality 

of Upplands Väsby, near Stockholm. Under the contract signed with 

construction firm Peab, Ruukki will design and deliver the steel frame 

and load-bearing roof structures, ready installed, for a 25,000 m 2 

shopping centre being built in Uddevalla for Ikano. The structures for 

the projects will be manufactured at Ruukki‘s plants in Gargzdai, 

Lithuania and Seinäjoki, Finland. 

www.ruukki.com 

(EE 130104551) K 

/

22 K Special: Italy 

 

 

Italy remains mired in deep recession and economic prospects for the 

current year remain difficult. While Italy’s central bank initially forecasts a 

slight improvement in 2013, in January it said the country’s recession would 

be worse than previously expected, leading it to cut its 2013 gross national 

product estimate due to continuing weakness in the global economy and 

disappointing domestic demand. 

WW K The Bank of Italy said in its Jan. 18 

Economic Bulletin that Italian GDP would 

probably contract 1 % this year compared 

to the 0.2 % reduction it estimated in July. 

»In Italy, the cyclical situation remains 

weak in the opening months of 2013«, the 

Bank of Italy said. »Domestic demand in 

Italy has yet to reach a turning point. 

According to the cyclical indicators, GDP 

growth was negative again in the fourth 

quarter of 2012 and is likely to remain weak 

in the current quarter.« 

 

real change y-o-y in % 

However, the Bank of Italy added: »Modest 

signs of stabilization can be seen nevertheless; 

the prolonged deterioration in firms‘ 

opinions of the general economic outlook 

has come to a halt.« 

The GDP has been struggling since 2008, 

when it fell 1.2 % and 5.5 % the following 

year. Recovery has been limited: in 2010 GDP 

climbed only 1.8 % and in 2011 just 0.4 %. 

A 2.3 % drop in GDP is estimated for 2012. 

The government of Prime Minister Mario 

Monti has introduced strict austerity measures 

2011 2012 2013 

and economic reforms, but they may not be 

far reaching enough to mend structural 

weaknesses. At the same time, the tough 

measures are strengthening the recession. 

While domestic demand has fallen 

sharply, manufacturers are hoping for a 

return to growth in mid 2013. The Monti 

government was able to calm markets and 

stabilize interest rates for government 

bonds, but its labour reforms failed to go far 

enough to effectively repair the Italian 

economy’s structural weaknesses. The 

negative effects of the austerity measures, 

such as the intensification of the recession, 

and the drop in domestic demand, have 

likewise taken their toll on the frail economy. 

It appears unlikely that the government will 

be able to turn the economy around before 

the parliamentary elections this spring. 

2 

0 

-2 

-4 

-6 

-8 

-10 

(EE 130104843/2) 

0.5 

-2.3 

-0.5 

1.0 

-7.2 

1.4 

-1.2 

-8.1 

GDP Imports Gross xed 

capital 

-2.1 

0.2 

-3.4 

-0.9 

Private 

consum 

Source: European Commission, Autumnal Prognosis 2012, gtai 

Some slight gleam of hope 

A number of large-scale projects are in the 

works, including the Brenner Base Tunnel, a 

straight, flat railway tunnel between Austria 

and Italy running 55 km from Innsbruck to 

Fortezza. Budgeted at some 8.6 billion 

euros, the tunnel is scheduled to be 

completed by 2025. Other long-term 

projects include: 

The Strait of Messina Bridge, the longplanned 

suspension bridge across the 

Strait of Messina connecting Sicily to 

the southern tip of mainland Italy. The 

bridge’s total cost is estimated at 6.3 

billion euros and is expected to be 

completed by 2017. 


Special: Italy K 23 

Italy: Crude steel production 

40 


30 

20 

27,058 28,604 29,350 31,624 31,553 30,590 

19,848 

25,750 

28,662 28,735 

10 

0 

(EE 130104843/3) 

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 

Source: worldsteel 

The MOSE Flood Protection Project in 

Venice, an integrated defence system 

consisting of rows of mobile gates 

intended to protect the city from floods 

caused by the Adriatic Sea’s rising tides; 

scheduled for completion in 2015 at a 

cost of 5.5 billion euros. 

The high-speed rail connection between 

Naples and Bari, budgeted at 5.1 billion 

euros and scheduled to be completed by 

2020. 

The 3.6 billion euros, 240 km-long Livorno-Civitavecchia 

highway, scheduled for 

completion in 2015. 

In view of the current decline in domestic 

demand, Italy’s industrial and services 

sectors have become largely dependent on 

export demand. 

Mechanical engineering and luxury sports 

cars are among the areas that continue to do 

well, along with the food, tourism and 

fashion sectors. Italian companies offering 

high-end products in these sectors are 

benefitting from the strong purchasing power 

in the U.S. as well as in emerging economies. 

Mechanical engineering is one of the core 

sectors of Italian industry and the continued 

high demand for exports illustrates that it 

remains internationally competitive. In 

2011, mechanical engineering production 

grew 8.6 % compared to the previous year. 

Yet production from January to September 

2012 decreased by 4.8 %. 

Demand from the U.S. and Southeast 

Asian nations has maintained Italy’s exportdriven 

business, although traditionally 

strong exports to Europe and China have 

stagnated. 

Imports of machinery and equipment in 

2011 increased by 7 %, but decreased 

sharply from January to September 2012. 

Imports from Germany dropped 8.2 % 

compared to the same period in 2011. 

Italian auto market 

The Italian car market has shrunk more than 

30 % since 2007. In 2012, the number of new 

registrations decreased by 19.9 % to just 

1.4 million units. This followed an 11 % 

decline in 2011 to 1.75 million units. The sales 

drop in 2011 hit Fiat, the country’s biggest 

auto manufacturer, harder than foreign 

competitors, although it was able to maintain 

its market share of nearly 30 %, followed by 

Volkswagen, which even managed to increase 

its sales by 1.3 % in the difficult environment 

to some 230,000 units for a 13.1 % market 

share, making it the second most successful 

automaker in the country. 

Fiat’s other rivals suffered significant 

declines in sales, with Peugeot, the No. 3 

carmaker in Italy, down 24.3 %, GM 9.2 %, 

Ford 19.5 % and Renault with a 15 % drop. 

While Daimler likewise saw a 6.6 % 

decrease in sales, BMW bucked the trend, 

managing a 0.5 % increase, thanks largely 

to the huge popularity of the Mini in Italy. 

Similarly, Asian automakers enjoyed 

strong sales growth – Nissan saw a plus of 

17.9 %, Hyundai 20.3 % and Mitsubishi an 

increase of 28.6 %. However, the three 

companies combined account for only a 

6.5 % market share in the country. 

The economic climate worsened for the 

car industry in 2012 as the recession was 

compounded by austerity measures and 

higher taxes. 

Action plan stipulated 

The collapse in demand in Italy and the euro 

zone has resulted in a severe crisis for the 

car industry. Roberto Vavassori, president of 

Italy‘s automotive industry association Anfia, 

has said an action plan to revive Italy’s 

automotive industry remains an urgent task 

for 2013, adding that not only was car 

demand down nearly 20 %, but also that 

Italian car production had collapsed in 2012. 

The negative trend is seen as a reaction to 

the actions of the Italian government and 

the changes new policies are having on the 

market, such as tax increases on petrol and 

diesel. The government also raised VAT and 

slapped a new luxury tax on big cars – a 

move that has luxury car dealers seriously 

worried. Italian manufacturers Maserati, 

Ferrari and Lamborghini, which already 

suffered a higher-than-average decline in 

sales, will be particularly affected, as will 

BMW and Daimler. 

As for Fiat, the group has managed to 

stay afloat thanks largely to its 59 % stake 

in Chrysler. While new markets, particularly 

Russia, China and Turkey, are providing new 

opportunities, Fiat has put plans for a new 

plant in Russia on hold due to the 

deterioration in the euro zone. 



Indeed, the dire situation in Europe may 

affect plans by Fiat Chief Executive Sergio 

Marchionne to merge Fiat and Chrysler into 

a single car company by 2014 or 2015. 

»Our primary objective right now is that 

of fixing the European environment«, 

Marchionne said in November in a conference 

call with analysts and reporters. 

The Turin-based company had in 2010 

outlined ambitious plans to increase its total 

sales to 6 million vehicles in 2014, but now 

expects to sell only between 4.6 million and 

4.8 million next year. 

While Italy’s industrial sector continues to 

navigate the murky waters of the recession, 

Prime Minister Monti, in a recent letter to 

the Financial Times, expressed optimism 

that his government’s reforms will continue 

to improve the country’s economy. 

»What this government has done to bring 

down prices and create more jobs in the 

services sector is without precedent for such 

a short period of time and given the lack of 

a genuine majority in parliament. Italy’s 

markets are now as open as the EU average, 

in some cases more, according to the OECD. 

It estimates the reforms will have lifted Italy’s 

economic growth potential by at least 4 

percentage points of gross domestic product 

by 2020.« 

(EE 130104843) K 

 

Milan. MECSPE 2013 and Subfornitura, held again from March 21 to 23, 2013 in Parma, award the best of Italian 

sub-supply relying on excellence, innovation and competitiveness in foreign markets. 

WWK In order to give space to the companies 

that form the skeleton of the Italian system 

– companies with less than 50 employees 

and almost 70 % made up of artisan 

companies that contribute about a quarter 

to the global added value of the industry – 

the Subfornitura will be held again as a 

trade show within MECSPE. Addressed to 

the most innovative tech nologies for the 

manufacturing on behalf of a third party, 

the trade show represents the most 

important national appointment with a 

strong international lure. A trade show that 

year after year has been able to get the 

partnership of important category associations 

and that for the 2013 edition can 

rely on the presence of CNA Produzione and 

on the collaboration with Confartigianato 

Padova (Association of Craft, Padua), Gia 

(Craft Companies Group) in Parma and CAD 

– Centro di ascolto del disagio (Disadvantage 

Attention Centre). 

Excellence squares, working isles and 

demonstration units from project to object 

add up to the exhibition areas: The Foundry 

Innovation Square, the Transports Square and 

many other scheduled initiatives will give the 

visitors of Subfornitura the chance to watch 

the operation of machines and particular 

production processes, applied to the sectors 

that mainly represent the market of the 

companies on behalf of a third party which 

visit MECSPE, e. g. the automotive sector, the 

electricity, the aviation and the energy sector. 

MECSPE’s nine trade shows comprise 

Macchine & Utensili – machine tools, tools 

and equipment; Eurostampi and Plastix Expo 

– the world of mould and moulding; 

Trattamenti & Finiture – surfaces treatments 

and finishes; Subfornitura – the biggest 

Italian exhibition for the manufacture on 

behalf of a third party; Motek Italy – automation, 

robotics and power transmissions; 

Control Italy – metrology and quality; 

Logistica – systems for logistics management, 

machines and equipment; Impianti Solari 

Expo – B2C event addressed to renewable 

energies for the industry. 

 

/ 

(EE 130104818) K 


Special: Italy K 25 

 

Milan. Focus on internationalization, business and knowledge at the fifth conference and exhibition 

of the steel industry, to be held in Milan in the halls of fieramilanocity on 3 – 5 April 2013. 

WW K Business, culture and internationalization. 

These are the pillars of the fifth Made 

in Steel, the conference and exhibition of 

the steel industry that will be held in Milan 

on 3 – 5 April 2013. Right from the very 

beginning, Made in Steel has become the 

point of reference of the Italian iron and 

steel industry, with the presence of the main 

players in steel production, processing, 

trade, use and provision of products and 

services to the industry. However, Made in 

Steel is not limited to Italy: thanks to its 

partnership agreements with Euro Inox, 

Eurofer, Eurometal, ISSF and IPO Steelnetwork 

and its cooperation with the Italian 

Chambers of Commerce in Brazil, United 

Arab Emirates, Sweden, Germany, India, 

Switzerland and Turkey, this event is going 

to be an international point of attraction 

and business venue. Business will be 

fundamental to the event, thanks to the 

presence of the main Italian and international 

industry players, that can be met to establish 

concrete business opportunities. Finally, 

Made in Steel will organize a full agenda of 

MADE IN STEEL (last edition) 

Logistic & 

Transportations 

1) 

thereof 85% Italians, 15% rest of world 

2) 

thereof 80% Italians, 20% rest of world 

(EE 130104715/1) 

End users 

23% 

Exhibitors 1) 

248 

16% 

24% 

37% 

Distributors & 

Service Centres 

Producers 

conferences and events, the main theme of 

which will be Work & Life, and which will 

analyze steel market trends and the 

prospects of three of the most significant 

Others 

End users 

27% 

21% 

Visitors 2) 

13,500 

12% 

Producers 

40% 

Distributors & 

Service Centres 

Source: MADE IN STEEL 

steel using industries: building, transportation 

and power & utilities. 

/ 

 

(EE 130104715) K 

EUROMETAL invitation: III. International Steel Trade Day 

EUROMETAL, the voice of 

European steel, tubes and metal intermediation 

announced its III. STSG International Steel Trade 

Day in Milano on April 4, 2013. It will take place 

 

MADE IN STEEL Conference & Exhibition. The 

panel of speakers represents a set of top experts 

on EU and Italian steel markets. Topics are 

perspectives for European and Italian steel 

producers, re-rollers and processors, Italian steel 

markets, pricing for value, present situation and 

trends in international steel trading, trade policy, 

imports, exports and changing structures in 

European steel distribution. Members of EURO- 

METAL, DISMET (the association of European 

distributors) , EASSC (The European association 

of flat steel service centres), NAT.FED (the 

federation of European national associations of 

steel, tube and metal distribution) and STSG (the 

European steel trading study group) may 

parcipitate free of charge. Otherwise the partici- 

 

registered participants will have free access to 

MADE IN STEEL Exhibition. 

/ 

 

Now on iPad 

»stahlmarkt« and 

»stahlmarkt European Edition« 



 

 

Ravenna and Casalmaggiore (Italy). Here the global manufacturer 

Marcegaglia has located two production centres in which it processes 

high-value quality steel products dedicated to applications including 

building & construction, automotive and pressure equipment. Both these 

units have been recently upgraded with new state-of-the-art mills to further 

widen the productive range. We have visited the two plants. 

WW K It’s a snowy day in Casalmaggiore 

(Northern Italy) when we arrive at the local 

Marcegaglia plant, the first large-scale 

carbon tube manufacturing centre established 

by the group, a few minutes’ drive 

from its headquarters, whose covered 

surface was recently doubled. The very first 

feature of the plant is an integrated photovoltaic 

roofing (employing Marce gaglia PV 

panels) generating 2.1 MW (corresponding 

to 2.000.000 kWh/year) electrical power to 

partially supply the manufacturing process. 

The unit here is dedicated to the processing 

of carbon steel hot rolled strip for 

the production of certified welded tubes 

and hollow sections, round, square, rectangular 

and of special shapes. 

We are here to visit the latest equipment 

additions. First of all, the new slitting line 

that allows to process high-thickness coils 

(up to 16 mm) increasing the whole manufacturing 

capacities up to 700,000 tonnes 

per year (thanks to five lines). The new line 

is charac terized by the presence of a robotcontrolled 

blade changing station with preloader 

and blade depositer that allow to 

better manage the slitting program. Besides, 

counting the new slitter, three tube mills for 

new dimen sional range capacities have 

been added for diameter up to 406,4 mm 

and thickness up to 16 mm. Today the 

complete production range is manufactured 

within 11 lines reaching a manufacturing 

capacity of 700,000 tonnes per year. 

Tube production has several certifications 

including CE marking and AD2000 for 

applications such as structures, pressure 

purpose, naval construction, auto motive 

industry. The very latest addition is the ISO/ 

TS 29001 quality system certification for the 

oil and gas sector. 

In addition to several chemical and 

mechanical tests on materials, the mills are 

equipped with state-of-the-art technology 

of in-line controls during the manufacturing 

process. A new heat treatment furnace has 

also been added to the plant and today the 

capacity of normalization, annealing and 

stress relieving in Casalmaggiore has been 

incremented to 200,000 tonnes per year. 

Casalmaggiore by numbers 

2 total surface of which 162,000 m 2 

are covered 

 

capacity 

 

ranging from 1,35 and 16 mm and diameters 

 

(EE 130104965/1) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Capacities 

Marcegaglia 

global capacity 

in tonnes/year 

Marcegaglia 

Ravenna capacity 

in tonnes/year 

Pickling 3,500,000 3,000,000 

Cold Rolling 2,500,00 2,200,000 

Skinpassing 1,200,000 750,000 

HD Galvanizing over 2,000,000 1,700,000 

Pre-painting 600,000 570,000 

Logistics plays a key role for Marcegaglia on 

a global level. According to this vision, the 

Casalmaggiore plant was completed by an 

automated warehouse that spreads over 14 

hall aisles and allows the automated storage 

and preparation of bundles to ship, avoiding 

the operator’s access to the loading bays. 

Moving to Ravenna (on the Adriatic coast) 

we are immediately astonished by the great 

area occupied by a well-organized coils 

storage system where raw materials are 

stacked and registered before being processed. 

Logistics plays a key role, here. 

Marcegaglia Ravenna is the group’s main 

hub: besides the coil storage area, the plant 

can count on a huge facility for receiving, 

storing, moving and shipping metal materials 

including 700 m of harbour docks, 

privately owned and managed, finished 

with state-of-the-art concrete floor and coil 

cradles served by five cranes and an internal 

railway line. In Ravenna, the flagship 

equipment is the new galva-painting line: 

200 m of installation for cold rolled low 

carbon and HSLA steel processing with a 

manufacturing capacity of 350,000 tonnes 

« 

CONTACT 

 

 

Italy 

 

 

 

 

 

Italy 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(EE 130104965/2) 

per year and capable of rolling strip 

900 – 1,550 mm wide and 0.25 – 1.50 mm 

thick. 

The line carries out the complete paint 

coating process (pretreatment, primer & top 

finish) performing galvanized painted zinc 

coating from 60 up to 450 g/m 2 total. 

Hydraulic automatic gauge control eliminates 

not only disturbances caused by the 

backup rolls, but also those caused by work 

rolls. This new line came in addition to the 

other two pickling lines, three cold-rolling 

mills, 50 annealing furnaces, one skinpass, 

three hot dip galvanizing lines and one prepainting 

line. Focusing back on the galvapainting 

line, the system configuration 

allows to bypass the painting section when 

needed, in a way that is quick and efficient. 

That also applies for its flexibility which is, 

above all, the most important advantage 

coming from the installation of a combined 

line for galvanizing and pre-painting steel 

coils. Obviously, space optimization (only 

200 m instead of 360 m required for two 

uncombined lines) and investment cost 

containment complete the advantages 

panorama. Focusing on technical requirements, 

the group chose the NIR-system 

technology: a combination of special Near 

InfraRed heat sources, extreme energy 

densities and special process and systems 

engineering allowing the fastest solution for 

the cure of finish coatings. Marcegaglia 

Ravenna technical laboratory has researched 

and developed more than 25 standards of 

resin organic coating on both sides of the 

steel coils: New solutions can be engineered 

based on new requirements. 

(EE 130104965) K 

SIDERURGICA GABRIELLI 

BECOMES GABRIELLI S.P.A. 

Cittadella/I. The Italian group Siderurgica 

Gabrielli S.P.A. – known for its innovative steel 

services – has announced that it has changed its 

name. It has been called GABRIELLI S.P.A. since 

28 January 2013. 

/ 


 

 

 

Italy 

 

 

(EE 130104897) K 


28 K Special: Steel distribution 

Steel distribution in turbulent seas 

Georges Kirps on strategies to weather the crisis 

Katowice (us). How can European steel distributors be successful under 

the currently challenging market conditions? Georges Kirps, managing 

director of European steel distribution association EUROMETAL, addressed 

this question in his presentation at the Central and Eastern European steel 

market conference in November 2012. 

WW K Kirps started his presentation with the 

remark that a series of crises – namely the 

banking crisis, the economic crisis and the 

sovereign debt crisis – have turned the 

world of steel upside down. He explained 

that steel use in the EU is still significantly 

EU and 400 million tonnes in China, the 

preliminary figures for 2012 are roughly 

150 million tonnes for the EU and 600 

million tonnes for China. In other words, the 

proportion of steel used in Europe compared 

to China has dropped from 50 % to 25 %. 

Georges Kirps 

(EE 130104628/4) (photo: WS) 

» 

Steel 

distribution today 

is a little bit like 

standing on the Titanic – 

but there is hope. 

below the pre-crisis level. This becomes even 

more apparent if one compares the amount 

of steel used in Europe in relation to Chinese 

steel use. Whereas in 2008, roughly 200 

million tonnes of steel were used in the 

A difficult environment 

Steel use has been hit especially hard during 

the downturn. While GDP in the EU27 was 

more or less flat in 2012, industrial steel 

output dropped about 3 % and construction 

output even 4 %. Due to declining volumes, 

steel distributors suffered even more, based 

on their sales levels. From January to September 

2012, sales at steel stockholders fell 

9% compared to the previous year while 

sales at flat steel service centers lost 6 %. 

»This is a very challenging environment«, 

said Kirps. Nonetheless, steel distribution 

still plays a major role in supply. Nearly twothirds 

of the current steel use is supplied by 

intermediaries – i. e. distributors – while 

roughly one-third is delivered directly from 

the steel mill to the end-user. To keep their 

market share, distributors will have to 

strengthen the ties with their customers, 

Kirps said. 

Kirps also pointed out that there has been 

a structural shift in steel distribution 

deliveries. Since 2008, distributors‘ deliveries 

and direct mill deliveries have fallen by 

nearly the same percentage (17 % vs. 

EU-27 market supply* 

2008* 2010* 2011* change 

2011 / 2008* 

change in % 

Stockholding distribution deliveries 72 53 57 – 15 – 21,0 

Flat steel service center deliveries 37 29 33 – 4 – 11,0 

Steel distribution deliveries 109 82 90 – 19 – 17,0 

Direct mill deliveries 62 52 51 – 11 – 18,0 

EU market supply considered products 171 134 141 – 30 – 17,5 

* in million tonnes Source: EUROMETAL, Sosnowiec 2012 


Special: Steel distribution K 29 

The role of steel distribution 

Non EU mills 

13 % 

EU mills 

87 % 

64 % 

EU 

steel 

distribution 

64 % 

Steel 

demand 

by end user 

segments 

in EU-27 

steel markets 

36 % 

direct 

deliveries 

mill to end user 

36 % 

Supply Side Intermediation Demand Side 

(EE 130104628/1) Source: EUROMETAL, Sosnowiec 2012 

18 %), but the picture within the intermediary 

side is mixed. While stockholders 

lost about 21 % in sales between 2008 and 

2011, steel service centers managed to limit 

their loss in volume to 11%. »Significant 

drops are necessarily leading to excessive 

overcapacity«, explained Kirps. He stressed 

that in this environment, the financial 

performance of the sector is getting more 

and more important. This means that saving 

cash becomes a crucial point for the survival 

of a distributor. 

below peak level. Also volumes of strip mill 

products service centers have proved 

relatively resilient. 

On the other hand, apparent use of rebars 

has dropped 46 % from its peak level. As a 

result, stockists of rebars had to face the 

biggest pressure on volumes during the 

crisis. But also plate centers, beam centers, 

high carbon and alloy steel distributors as 

well as distributors of tubular products have 

seen significant volume drops, according to 

Kirps. 

Kirps warned that all operational modes 

that have experienced significant volume 

declines may face increasing hurdles and 

profitability issues. He explained this by 

showing that the Return on Capital 

Employed (ROCE) has significantly fallen for 

distributors. While the distributors‘ ROCE 

was around 26 % on average in 2006 – at 

that time the same figure as for mining 

companies – it was just 9 % in 2011, with a 

downward trend. Mining, on the other 

hand, still has an ROCE of 25 %, due to the 

Distribution follows 

a general trend 

»Between the last cycle peak in 2007 and 

the cycle down in 2012, the EU market 

for finished steel products has lost almost 

30 % in market supply«, Kirps explained. 

» 

The 

relationship with the 

end-user is an important point 

for a steel distributor. 

 

Upstream 

ROCE 1 

33% 

26% 

Mining 

24% 

22% 

18% 20% 

Production 

13% 

3% 

26% 

7% 

25% 

8% 

Unfortunately, steel distribution sales follow 

more or less this general trend, he added. 

He then looked at the different product 

categories and operational modes, which 

showed a very diversified picture. »Stainless 

steel service centers have resisted the crunch 

rather well«, Kirps said and added that in 

this category, volumes were just 10 % 

26% 

24% 

23% 

9% 

Distribution 

8% 

–1% 

Downstream 

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 

1 

EBIT/Capital Employed, based on available companies reports 

(EE 130104628/2) Source: RCG, EUROMETAL, Sosnowiec 2012 



Top-10 producers share 

57 % 87 % 55 % 28 % 5 % 67 % 

Iron ore: (Total) Iron ore: (Seaborne) Met Coal (Seaborne) 

Steel 

Distribution Automotive 

43 % 

4 % 

9 % 

13 % 

20 % 

Other 

AngloAm 

Metinvest 

AnBen 

Metalloinvest 

Evraz 

Fortescue 

ArcelorMittal 

BHP 

Rio Tinto 

Vale 

13 % 

5 % 

16 % 

23 % 

31 % 

Other 

CVG 

ArcelorMittal 

Hancock 

NMDC 

AngloAm 

LKAB 

Fortescue 

BHP 

Rio Tinto 

Vale 

45 % 

5 % 

5 % 

6 % 

8 % 

8 % 

11 % 

Other 

NWR 

Mechel 

Peabody 

Walter 

Rio Tinto 

Xstrata 

AngloAm 

Teck 

Mitsubishi 

BHP 

72 % 

3 % 

7 % 

Other 

Ansteel 

JFE 

Shougang 

Shagang 

Nippon 

Wuhan 

POSCO 

Baosteel 

Hebei 

ArcelorMittal 

>95 % 

1 % 

Other 

MetalOne 

TKS 

Klöckner 

AMDS 

33 % 

5 % 

5 % 

5 % 

6 % 

7 % 

9 % 

11 % 

11 % 

Other 

Renault 

Suzuki 

PSA 

Honda 

Nissan 

Ford 

Hyundai 

VW 

GM 

Toyota 

* Data as of 2010 – 2011 

Steel distribution is even more fragmented than steel production 

(EE 130104628/3) Source: RCG analysis, worldsteel, worldcoal, OICA, companies data, EUROMETAL, Sosnowiec 2012 

high level of market concentration in this 

segment. 

New strategies are necessary 

Kirps then looked at the various possibilities 

a distributor has for improving his market 

standing. Apart from identifying regional 

growth markets or segment and finding the 

right niches, the relationship with the 

customer is important. He highlighted that 

it has become necessary for a steel distributor 

to reduce delivery times – maybe 

through third-party logistics – to address 

proximity needs of the customer and to find 

the right level between outsourcing of own 

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crossmedia 

activities and, on the other hand, even 

insourcing parts of the customers‘ activities. 

Most important, however, is a good 

portfolio management. »Cash is king«, as 

Kirps put it. This includes the optimizing of 

» 

Surviving 

in troubled steel 

markets means saving cash 

and identifying new chances. 

work shifts for a more efficient plant use, 

the possibility of sharing upstream activities 

as it is done by big gasoline producers and 

the reduction of underperforming activities 

and assets. On the one hand, fixed assets 

such as real estate or truck fleets have to 

be checked to see whether they can 

be transformed into cash. On the other 

hand, inventories have to be lowered by 

reducing complexity, for example by 

shifting slow moving products over to 

specialist providers. 

Looking for new opportunities 

In his concluding remarks, Kirps stressed 

that the current overcapacity has to be 

addressed sooner or later. Moreover, he 

clearly sees the reduction of working capital 

in all operational processes as the crucial 

point to weather the crisis. »This will be the 

oxygen mask for steel distributors in 

troubled markets«, he said. Kirps also added 

that there are opportunities outside 

traditional markets, but that a simple »copy 

and paste approach« would not be enough 

to identify the right niches. »Steel distribution 

is facing a tremendous challenge«, 

Kirps said and concluded: »There are 

problems, but there are also solutions. Be 

inventive!« 

(EE 130104628) K 

« 

CONTACT 

EUROMETAL 

202b, rue de Hamm 

1713 Luxembourg 

Luxembourg 

phone +35 2 26 25 90 26 

www.eurometal.net 



Logistics partner for European plate business appointed 

London. Stemcor, the world’s largest independent steel trader, has signed a long-term handling 

and storage agreement with logistics partner Katoen Natie in Antwerp, Belgium. 

WWK The intention is to consolidate stocks of 

steel plate into a purpose-built transit and 

distribution centre to serve Stemcor’s 

expanding European customer base. The 

appointment of Katoen Natie coincides with 

a business improvement project whereby 

the entire supply chain from steel mill to 

customer has been analysed and optimised. 

Historically, plate stocks were held at 

numerous locations, fragmenting the 

inventory positions. This new central stock 

location will hold a wide array of both 

commodity and higher grade heavy plate 

and provide Stemcor’s European distribution 

business with a flexible base to support 

further growth. In addition the central stock 

will serve the requirements of Stemcor’s 

customers in African and Caribbean 

markets. It is anticipated that, by eradicating 

product overlap and centralising inventory 

replenishment control, stock levels and 

outbound logistics can be better forecast, 

resulting in significantly improved service 

levels. In addition to this central warehouse, 

Stemcor operates regional warehouses in 

France, Germany and Scandinavia for quick 

deliveries and bespoke logistics solutions. 

Robert Van der Weck, Stemcor’s Stockholding 

Director, said: »Working with 

Katoen Natie, our efficient new transit and 

distribution centre will translate into better 

customer service. Stemcor’s European plate 

business has an active customer base of 

more than 1,000 addresses, many of which 

are end users. The vast majority of these 

customers are located within a 650 km 

radius of Antwerp, enabling short lead times 

when fulfilling orders. We are also adding a 

cutting and processing service to give our 

customers more choice.« 

/ 

Stemcor Holdings Limited 

CityPoint 

1 Ropemaker Street 

London EC2Y 9ST 

United Kingdom 

phone +44 207 775 3600 

www.stemcor.com 

(EE 130104692) K 

i 

The following article can be downloaded 

from the »stahlmarkt« website. 

The role of steel trading 

As a keynote presentation to the 2nd Steel Trade Day in Düsseldorf, 

Stemcor CEO Ralph Oppenheimer gave the audience an insight into 

the structure and goals of the Steel Trade Study Group (STSG) 

within EUROMETAL. 

Read the article via QR Code. 

Go straight to the PDF using 

this QR Code on your smartphone 

or via our website. 

/www.stahlmarkt-magazin.de/crossmedia 

RUUKKI AND CAPMAN CREATED FORTACO 

Helsinki. Rautaruukki Corporation (Ruukki) and funds managed by 

CapMan (CapMan) agreed in October 2012 to combine units of Komas 

and units of Ruukki Engineering division to form a new company, 

Fortaco. The arrange ment has now been finalised. As announced 

Ruukki‘s ownership in the new company is 19 %. Fortaco will be a 

leading manufacturing partner for the engineering industry and 

Europe‘s largest actor in its field. Fortaco is expected to generate proforma 

net sales of approximately 270 million euros in 2012 and will 

have a total of approxi mately 2,600 employees. The company has been 

formed from the compatible and complementary units of Ruukki and 

Komas. 

(EE 130104760) K 



Steel distribution in Poland 

Insights from the 2012 PUDS conference 

Rynek stali 2012 

Katowice (us). In November 2012, PUDS, the Polish steel distributors‘ 

association, hosted its yearly conference. Several representatives from the 

industry presented their insights on Eastern European steel markets to an 

 

hard economic times but also said there was hope for the »white light at 

the end of the tunnel«. 

WW K 

conference as president of the association, 

as she had been inaugurated roughly six 

months before. In her presentation, she 

referred to the situation of Polish steel 

producers who have weathered the current 

economic situation relatively well, compared 

to their Western European counterparts. 

However, it would be necessary to find the 

right measure for new investments and to 

identify the right niches. »This is the most 

important thing these days«, she said. 

Moreover, she emphasized that it still 

could not be ruled out that the global crisis 

might intensify also in Poland, even though 

it did not look like this for the time being. 

»We do not see any 

l a r g e r 

consolidation 

tendencies«, 

 

identified five 

challenges for steel distributors: cost 

reduction, a sound financial standing, 

ensuring good customer relationships, 

keeping the current business level and 

finding extra income from alternative 

sources. 

» 

Companies 

that manage 

risk better also have 

lower stock volatility. 

Radoslaw Ziomko, director risk 

management, Aon Polska 

Coated products and tubes 

The following speakers looked at different 

sub-segments of the Polish steel markets. 

 

bearing his name, provided some insight on 

the highly specialized market for coated and 

galvanized products, which only represents 

about 15 % of the whole Polish steel 

market. He put a special emphasis on the 

effects of anti-dumping rules active for 

Eastern Europe. 

Marek Misiakiewicz, vice president 

of Alchemia S.A., held 

a presentation on the 

In November 2012, some international fairs took 

place at Expo Silesia in Sosnowiec: SteelMet, an 

international fair for steel, non-ferrous metals, 

technologies and products, SURFPROTECT, a fair 

for corrosion protection, TEZ Expo for fasteners 

production and application, ScrapExpo for metal 

recyclers and Foundry Expo for the casting sector 

(photos: WS). 

Polish tube market. For the time being, the 

biggest competitors for Polish distributors 

active in this market segment are sitting in 

Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany. 

However, China is gaining substantial 

ground in this segment and has a clear 

production overhang when it comes to 

tubes, Misiakiewicz added. »Europe is 

getting less and less competitive in this 

segment«, he said. On the other hand, he 

stressed that the highest value-added could 

be found in highly specialized products for 

the energy industry, where European 

producers are still strong. 

Radoslaw Ziomko, director risk management 

at Aon Polska, talked about strategies 

and possibilities to cope with market risks. 

»A downturn is normal«, Ziomko stressed 

and pointed out that the steel industry can 

be seen as relatively stable in this respect. By 

contrast, the airline industry normally counts 

nine out of ten years as crisis years. But there 

are ways to confront a crisis. »The task is to 

identify threats. You then have to either 

reduce the risk or to reduce the influence of 

the risk on your company«, Ziomko added. 

(EE 130104630/6) 

 

the host organisation PUDS, 

the Polish association of 

steel stockholders. 

The viewpoint of the 

large companies 

In the afternoon, some speakers from larger 

PUDS member companies took the chance 

to present their views on the current market 

situation. Stefan Dzienniak, board member 



Free download 

Further charts can be downloaded from our 

»stahlmarkt« web site. 


crossmedia 

(EE 130104630/5) 

of Arcelor Mittal Poland, referred to the 

general challenges that the Polish steel 

market is facing these days. Apart from 

rising prices for raw materials and energy, 

Dzienniak warned about demographic 

problems in Poland, as its population is 

gradually getting older. 

He stated that the recent bankruptcies of 

many Polish construction companies had led 

to some cash flow problems, also at steel 

distributors. Dzienniak also blamed some of 

the current problems of the industry on the 

notorious VAT fraud schemes. In his view, 

VAT fraud constituted a major source for 

market distortions and should be tackled 

more seriously by Polish politics and law 

enforcement bodies. Nonetheless, his 

general view on the economy was quite 

positive: »Poland has at least 20 years of 

» 

Poland 

will get a demographic 

problem, but we will see 

what we can do about it. 

Stefan Dzienniak, board member 

of Arcelor Mittal Poland 

good development ahead, if Poles were to 

catch up with Western European standards 

of living.« 

Jerzy Bernhard, CEO of Stalprofil, gave an 

overview on the market for long products in 

Poland. He highlighted that this product 

category had lost importance in Poland after 

the large privatizations. However, Bernhard 

insisted that one should not paint too 

gloomy a picture: Poland still ranks number 

19 in global steel production, even before 

France. Moreover, long products still 

About 350 participants attended the one-day conference »Steel market in Central and Eastern 

Europe«. The event was organized by the Polish association of steel stockholders, PUDS, during 

the fair SteelMet in Sosnowiec in cooperation with EUROMETAL, the voice of European steel, 

tubes and metal intermediation. 

contribute about 55 % to overall Polish steel 

production and profile products had seen 

12 % growth year-on-year in the first eight 

months of 2012. 

On the other hand, there was still a lack 

of production balance visible in Polish steel 

products, Bernhard said. Whereas Poland 

has an overhang in long products and 

therefore exports a large part of them, the 

country has to import a considerable 

proportion of flat products used in further 

processing. Like Dzienniak, Bernhard also 

stressed the negative impact from bankruptcies 

in the construction sector on Polish 

steel distributors. »Nevertheless, the situation 

for steel distributors in Poland is 

generally good«, he concluded. 

www.puds.pl 

(EE 130104630) K 

/ 

Apparent steel use* 2012 in Central Europe 

18,300 

2,200 

1,900 

4,900 

9,300 

Hungary 

18,000 

2,100 

2,000 

4,800 

9,100 

Slovakia 

12,700 

1,200 

1,300 

3,300 

6,900 

Czech Republic 

15,700 

1,400 

1,800 

4,000 

8,500 

17,300 

1,600 

1,900 

4,300 

9,500 

Poland 

17,200 

1,600 

2,000 

4,400 

9,200 

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 E 2012 

E – estimated 

* nished steel products 

Source: EUROMETAL, Sosnowiec , Nov. 2012 

(EE 130104630/1) 



A tool for optimizing steel stock 

Mikel Garay about the Steel Stock Exchange 

Katowice (us). In a tight market environment, optimizing steel stock 

becomes paramount for every steel distributor. At the Central and Eastern 

European steel conference, general manager Mikel Garay presented the 

Steel Stock Exchange, a new online application for matching the different 

needs of steel service centers. 

WW K Garay enriched his presentation with 

direct insights into the online page www. 

steelstockexchange.com. He explained that 

the platform has been invented as a tool 

for intermediaries, not for end-users. It will 

allow steel distributors to optimize their 

stock and brings a European dimension by 

enabling participants to exchange products 

with counterparts from different countries. 

Steel distribution within 

the value chain 

At first, Garay reflected on the business 

situation in which steel distributors are 

currently finding themselves. Regional steel 

distribution, with its strong links to the 

customer, has an important role and 

traditionally a strong position within the 

value chain. However, due to globalization 

and growing worldwide supply, margins 

have come under pressure. For keeping their 

profitability, steel distributors have basically 

two options: Either they can raise their profit 

by identifying new markets and grow their 

sales or they can lower their working capital 

and save cash. The steel stock exchange is a 

tool to achieve the latter. 

In a typical case, a given end-user needs 

a specified quantity of a special steel grade 

within a limited time frame. However, his 

local supplier cannot have every grade of 

steel available in any quantity at any time. 

Wouldn‘t it be convenient if the distributor 

could order lacking material online at 

another supplier who happens to be overstocked 

at the same time? This is exactly the 

question which the Steel Stock Exchange 

wants to address, Garay explained. By 

bringing business partners with excess of 

stock and lack of stock together, the Steel 

Stock Exchange can help all market participants 

in reducing delivery times. »This 

is a tool to make your steel stock more 

efficient«, Garay said. 

A simple and convenient tool 

In order to offer material on the Steel Stock 

Exchange, a distributor has to register 

online. He then has to create a line, to see 

if other stockists are interested in the 

material he has to offer. The online platform 

provides the other users with information 

on the steel grade, the dimension, shape, 

surface quality and price of the material in 

question. Certificates that assure the 

quality of the stock can be downloaded by 

the potential buyer to verify the origin of 

steel and the product specifications. In this 

way, the platform facilitates the contact 

between potential buyers and sellers. 

»Steel Stock Exchange enables you to 

check the European steel market«, Garay 

explained the concept of the application. 

The goal is to reduce the amount of slow 

movers in stock while looking for a tailormade 

solution for the customer at the same 

time. 

For the time being, a user who registers 

receives two free months of membership. 

Only verified producers and distributors of 

steel can access the system, which the Steel 

Stock Exchange guarantees. Thus, it is 

assured that only trusted parties will enter 

into a business relationship, avoiding 

potential unpleasant situations. The contact 

information provided by the user is crosschecked 

against external public and business 

databases to ensure that the level of 

transparency for two potential business 

partners is considerably increased. 

Mikel Garay 

Transparent fee structure 

After the two-month trial period, the 

monthly membership fee for the Steel Stock 

Exchange amounts to 100 euros. There are 

additional fees for the number of steel lines 

that are entered into the system as well as 

for viewing contact details of the counterparty 

and downloading certificates. It costs 

a registered stockist 10 euros to create a line 

and 10 cents per metric tonne for each day 

the line is available in the system. Viewing a 

contact file triggers a charge of 5 euros and 

the same amount has to be paid if the user 

wants to download a product certificate. All 

charges are summed up and are invoiced on 

a monthly basis. 

Steel Stock Exchange is a company 

registered in Spain and subject to Spanish 

law. Currently, the platform offers English, 

German and Italian as languages for its 

users. On the website, you will also find an 

online explanatory video which gives a short 

introduction on how the platform works. 

« 

CONTACT 

(EE 130104629) K 

Steel Stock Exchange 

Arantzabal, 2, Esc.1, 2ºC 

01008 Vitoria (Alava) 

Spain 

phone +34 945 242269 

www.steelstockexchange.com 

(photo: WS) 



Robust 4-way trucks 

for bright steel handling 

Combilift delivered two forklifts 

Monaghan. J. Adolf Bäuerle GmbH, based in Böblingen in the South of 

Germany, is part of the Georgsmarienhütte Holding group and is a leading 

manufacturer of bright steel products. It supplies various industries 

throughout Europe such as the engineering, agriculture, automotive and 

textile sectors with steel in a variety of specifications and finishes. Two 

4-way Combilift forklifts have been brought in to handle the company’s 

material from the raw stage through to the finished product. 

WWK The transport and storage of heavy and 

extremely long loads at Bäuerle used to be 

handled by a combination of sideloaders 

and overhead crane. »This process left a lot 

to be desired«, says plant manager Michael 

Keppeler. »The limited manoeuvrability of 

the sideloader increased the risk of damage 

to the product, and double handling slowed 

down the entire handling process.« 

Two Combilift C6000 diesel powered 

6-tonne capacity models have now replaced 

the previous system for much more efficient 

handling of steel inside the factory building 

itself and in the separate warehouse. The 

trucks ensure easy transportation of the 

bundled steel, which ranges from 3 to 9 m 

in length, from storage areas to the production 

line. Thanks to the Combilifts’ 

ability to travel sideways with long loads, 

the relatively narrow entrance door is easy 

to negotiate and loads can be deposited at 

the precise spot where they are required. 

»These are the first trucks we have had that 

are capable of doing this«, says Michael 

Keppeler. 

Thanks to their robust design, the Combilifts 

can easily cope with the harsh conditions 

at Bäuerle, operating two-shifts from 

5.30 am to 11 pm. The generous capacity 

of the C6000 model enables two bundles to 

be carried simultaneously, thereby considerably 

enhancing production throughput. Low 

level transportation of loads resting on the 

integrated platform also improves safety 

procedures. 

»The spacious cab and the telescopic 

forks are perfect for efficient operation and 

for driver comfort«, explains Michael Keppeler. 

»Because of the long hours that the 

operators spend driving around inside and 

outside the building, it is essential that we 

provide them with a comfortable environment. 

The telescopic forks facilitate the 

loading and unloading of trucks, and the 

agility of the vehicle makes it ideal for 

manoeuvring in the tight spaces between 

production areas. With these highly flexible 

trucks, we are able to store our materials 

more efficiently and thereby increase 

productivity.« 

Combilift 4-way forklifts are all designed 

and built in Monaghan, Ireland, where the 

company has its headquarter and R&D 

facility. The current Combilift range now 

encompasses at least fifteen base models 

with capacities ranging from 2.5 to 25 

tonnes, with LPG, diesel or AC electric 

power available. Combilift has won numerous 

awards for its products since the 

company was established in 1998, and there 

are now around 18,000 units in operation 

around the world. 

(EE 130104914) K 

« 

CONTACT 

Combilift Ltd 

Gallinagh 

Co. Monaghan 

Ireland 

phone +353 47 80500 

www.combilift.com 

The Combilift trucks ensure easy 

transportation of bundled steel 

(photo: Combilift). 

(EE 130104914/1) 


36 K Special: Tube & Pipe 

New solution combines electrical 

and hydraulic systems 

transfluid ® offers new hybrid drive system for tube processing machines 

Schmallenberg. Electric drives are energy-efficient, highly accurate and 

largely independent of external influences. The hydraulic drives have a 

unique power density and robustness. No system for bending and forming 

machines or manufacturing cells can to cover both as standard. transfluid ® 

Maschinenbau GmbH covers this gap with a new development. 

WWK The engineers of the South Westphalian 

company have developed an unique system 

that combines some advantages of both 

systems. With these new hybrid drive 

options, the advanced tube processing 

technology is brought into a good form. 

More energy-efficient 

The hybrid drives are effectively matched 

to the requirements of the corresponding 

machines. To the equipment of the hydraulic 

units of the new system belong constant 

pumps and a powerful servo motor. The 

motor is very energy-efficient and 

almost the entire control of the system takes 

place via the power or rotation speed. This 

generally improves the energy efficiency by 

15 to 20 %, since the power is always given 

in accordance with the consumer. 

Smaller, quieter and more precise 

The hybrid drives are smaller, quieter and 

more precise. Furthermore the heating in 

the process is minimized. It’s quite remarkable 

that the hydraulic unit needs up to 

20 % less volume of oil. Additionally the 

required performance of the external 

cooler is correspondingly lower. 

The technology is able to demonstrate its 

advantages especially in areas where 

powerful drives are required as well as with 

many hydraulic cylinders of different sizes 

and at different speeds. This applies 

especially to bending processes and axial 

forming machines. 

Unique for hydraulic drives is the new 

positioning accuracy due to the hybrid 

system. Via the electrical control, the consumption 

volumes are pre-selected or stored 

and via the rotational speed of the drive 

motor submitted precisely. 

Responsible for high precision means is 

not least the specially designed control 

system. It offers a synchronization of the 

requested speed of the consumer in relation 

to the necessary volume. In this way you are 

able to ensure that no excess volume is 

generated. 

(EE 130104847) K 

A new hybrid drive system of transfluid provides more precision, energy efficiency and 

performance in advanced tube processing technologies (photo: transfluid). 

(EE 130104847/1) 

« 

CONTACT 

transfluid Maschinenbau GmbH 

Hünegräben 20 – 22 

57392 Schmallenberg 

phone +49 2972 9715-0 

www.tube-processing-machines.com 


Special: Tube & Pipe K 37 


SCHIERLE EXPANDS 

Neuss. Schierle Stahlrohre KG, based in Neuss with a branch in Leipzig, 

has purchased a holding in the Dutch company All Steel Products B.V. in 

Duiven. Like Schierle Stahlrohre KG, the young company in the Netherlands 

also focuses on supplying cylindrical tubes and piston bars. Its personnel 

are characterised by decades of experience in the hydraulics market. Schier- 

le Stahlrohre KG made this move to secure and expand its Dutch sales 

market, as well as to drive forward acquisitions in some other countries. 

/ 

Schierle Stahlrohre KG 

Blindeisenweg 9 

41468 Neuss 

Germany 

phone +49 2131 3665-0 

www.schierle.de 

(EE 130104716) K 

Schierle Stahlrohre KG has made a name for itself through the 

production and trading of tubes and piston bars at its central site in 

Neuss (photo: Schierle). 

(EE 130104716/1) 

OUTOKUMPU – TUBINOXIA BECOMES 

MAJORITY SHAREHOLDER IN THE OSTP TUBULAR 

JOINT VENTURE 

Espoo. Outokumpu’s partner in the OSTP tubular joint venture, Tubinoxia 

S.r.l. has exercised its call option and acquired additional 15 % of the joint 

venture’s shares from Outokumpu. Tubinoxia, an Italian company controlled 

by Andrea Gatti, has thus increased its ownership in OSTP from 36 % to 

51 %. The OSTP joint venture was formed in July 2011 when Outokumpu 

decided to exit from the tubular business as part of its restructuring program. 

Outokumpu remains as a minority shareholder with a 49 % stake in 

the joint venture. The consideration and cash flow impact of this transaction 

are marginal. 

(EE 130104833) K 


38 K Special: Tube & Pipe 

New tube production line 

in central Russia 

Steel products for the Russian gas industry 

Russia (VK). Gazpromtrubinvest, a division of Russia’s state-controlled 

monopoly gas exporter Gazprom, has launched a project to build a new 

plant in central Russia for producing medium-diameter tubes, reportedly 

intended to cut costs in projects for pipeline construction across the country 

– part of its programme to supply gas to remote rural regions. 

WW K At the same time, in January, the 

holding signed an agreement with Russia’s 

state-controlled Rusnano to co-operate in 

the production of large-diameter tubes 

made of composite materials to permit 

replacement of tubes traditionally made of 

metal – to be used in the construction of 

major pipelines supplying gas for exports. 

In 2012, the company prepared the 

construction site in Volgorechensk, in the 

Kostroma region, and started building the 

facilities for producing medium-diameter 

tubes. The project is expected to be 

completed within two-and-a-half years, 

according to the local government office. 

This investment, amounting to about 10 

billion roubles (330 million euros), will allow 

Gazprom to produce 350,000 tonnes of 

tubes annually, adding 462 million US 

dollars to the current total annual tube 

production by this division of Gazprom. 

Gazprom is co-operating with Severstal, 

which supplied the metal structures for the 

future tube production facilities. The equipment 

has been produced by the company’s 

Severstal Solutions Division. »Implementation 

of the contract with Gazpromtrubinvest was 

Now on iPad 

»stahlmarkt« and 

»stahlmarkt European Edition« 

a major transaction for our company [in 

2012]. We offer key clients modern construction 

solutions including the often difficult 

delivery to the construction site. Our production 

capacities currently enable us to send 

50 tonnes of metal structures daily, allowing 

predictable construction work and meeting 

delivery schedules«, according to Severstal’s 

state ment. 

The site is the second development stage 

at an existing plant in Volgorechensk which 

began operating in 2000, producing tubes 

using German equipment. The site was 

originally chosen because of its good 

transportation networks and relative proximity 

to the seaport of St. Petersburg, which 

makes it possible »to reduce transportation 

costs and thus cut the price of the tubes, 

easing sales to customers,« according to the 

company’s website. 

The production lines currently in operation 

supply tubes for both the local market and 

a wide range of customers in Europe and the 

USA, including Special Industries, Trident 

Steel Corporation, Gertnergroup and Poliurs. 

The annual demand for tubes in Russia is 

estimated to be about 9 million tonnes. The 

tubes are used in many segments of the 

country’s economy, including enormous 

demand for residential gas and water supplies 

(many of which are in poor condi tion and 

must be replaced), the construction of 

regional gas supply lines, and major gas 

export projects – such as South Stream, or the 

on-going construction of a large-scale gas 

transportation network in Russia’s far east. 

One of Russia’s largest tube producers, 

the Tube Metallurgy Company (TMK), has 

increased production levels by 26 % during 

the last two years, to about 1.7 million 

tonnes. Russian demand for tubes grew by 

48 % in 2011 alone, due to a large number 

of projects involving gas transportation and 

the renovation of residential systems. 

Demand from the country’s energy sector 

increased by 62 % and there was a 52 % 

increase in residential demand, according 

to statistics published by the Concrete 

Technologies analytical agency (Tehnobeton). 

Projects to build major oil and gas 

transportation systems, including export 

pipelines, represent 27 % of total demand 

or about 3.3 million tonnes of tubes a year. 

Meanwhile, Gazprom is looking into 

options for replacing metals in tube production 

with composite materials for major 

pipeline projects, signing an agreement with 

Rusnano to create a special working party 

during the first quarter of this year to study 

the issue. »Gazprom is the world’s largest 

tube consumer. We implement enormous 

gas transportation projects. We opened the 

major Bavanenkovo-Ukhta pipeline in 2012, 

the world’s most modern pipeline, and 

started construction of South Steam. This is 

currently the largest investment project in 

Europe. We have already begun to build the 

Yakutia-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok pipeline, 

which will become a major part of the 

Siberian Power gas pipeline system«, 

Russian media quoted Alexey Miller, head of 

the holding, who was explaining the need 

to provide new technology for largediameter 

tube production. 

»Gazprom’s ambitious projects represent 

an enormous field, intended to develop and 

implement modern and efficient solutions. 

Rusnano’s goal is for these solutions to bring 

significant long-term economic advantages 

for Gazprom«, the official continued. 

(EE 130104824) K 


Industry K 39 

Lightweight solutions for a wide range 

of car components 

Tata Steel adapts products to the needs 

Hanover. Tata Steel presented at EuroBLECH 2012 optimised applications 

of advanced and ultra-high strength steels for greener, safer and stronger 

cars. These applications are the company’s answer to the WorldAutoSteel’s 

latest lightweight small car concept. 

WW K Following the findings of World- 

AutoSteel’s lightweight small car concept, 

called Future Steel Vehicle (FSV), Tata Steel 

performed optimisation studies for application 

of its own advanced steels. Tata Steel 

has developed lightweight designs for a 

wide range of steel car components on the 

basis of available current steel grades. An 

important role is played by the FSV 

achievement of saving up to 35 % in weight 

and nearly 70 % in life cycle emissions 

through improved material performance 

and pro duction economics. 

WorldAutoSteel initiated project 

With the FSV findings, steelmakers worldwide 

are responding to the automotive 

industry’s demand for lightweight car 

solutions that save costs, reduce fuel 

consumption and lower emissions. This 

development project was initiated by 

WorldAutoSteel, the automotive group of 

the World Steel Association, in which Tata 

Steel actively participated as a steering group 

member, collectively designing a lightweight 

body structure for future electric/hybrid cars. 

Tata Steel’s research and development 

department studied the findings to develop 

optimised applications of its advanced and 

ultra high strength steels. 

Satisfied with the results 

At EuroBLECH Tata Steel demonstrated how 

it delivers lightweight solutions working in 

close partnership with its customers. With 

the help of a FSV scale model the product 

and service portfolio has been displayed. 

The process has been accompanied by 

studies on body-in-white, seating designs 

and sub frame. Tata Steel showed its 

capability to cover nearly 100 % of a car’s 

steel components. 

Sander Heinhuis, Marketing Manager 

Automotive of Tata Steel in Europe, says: 

»We can be more than satisfied with the 

results. Tata Steel delivers lightweight bodyin-white 

solutions weighing only a few 

kilogrammes more than the FSV model, 

which had used steels not available for 

commercial use before 2020.« 

Maintaining the ease 

of manufacture 

When upgrading to higher-strength 

materials there can be a concern about 

compromising on formability in relation to 

stamping and on weldability in relation to 

assembly processes – in short, about the 

ease of manufacture. Tata Steel understands 

this issue and combines its application 

experience and material knowledge with 

computer-based simulation expertise to 

(EE 130104596/1) 

Tata Steel delivers lightweight body-in-white solutions 

weighing only a few kilogrammes more than the FSV 

model, which had used steels not available for 

commercial use before 2020 (photos: Tata Steel). 

(EE 130104596/2) 

Tata Steel re-engineered components for body-in-white, subframe and seating designs 

using its currently available steel grades and gauges. 


40 K Industry 

build this thinking into a cost-effective 

solution. The company develops a design 

shape resulting from the existing material 

and currently used processes to understand 

what needs to be modified in order to use 

its new advanced and ultra high strength 

steels on existing process equipment. 

New structure and products 

Since changing its name from Corus in 

2010, Tata Steel has transformed the 

organisation of its sales and marketing 

activities to strengthen its long-term 

commitment to the European steel market. 

Henrik Adam, Chief Commercial Officer of 

Tata Steel in Europe, said: »Europe is 

currently facing economic uncertainty. 

Markets like automotive, mechanical 

engineering and construction are heavily 

affected by the stagnating economy. To 

remain competitive, these industries are 

seeking to deliver superior customer value 

whilst at the same time reducing costs. 

Customers expect support in their 

innovation efforts, improved product 

performance and value in use.« 

« 

(EE 130104596) K 

CONTACT 

Tata Steel 

Automotive 

Commercial Headquarters 7H-04 

PO Box 10000 

1970 CA Ijmuiden 

The Netherlands 

connect.automotive@tatasteel.com 

www.tatasteelautomotive.com 

SSAB RELEASES 

NEW WELDING GUIDE 

Stockholm. SSAB has released a unique 

and highly detailed guide to welding with 

AHSS/UHSS steels. There are more and more 

automotive applications being developed from 

AHSS/UHSS steels. The new welding guide offers 

results, recommendations and a deep insight 

needed to optimize welding processes and 

quicker realize benefits. 

THE NEXT STEP IN CONTOUR 

CUT TECHNOLOGY 

Finsterwalde. At the EuroBLECH exhibition in 

Hanover, Kjellberg Finsterwalde demonstrated 

precision plasma cutting of small contours with 

Contour Cut and of large contours up to 50 % 

faster with Contour Cut Speed. Contour Cut 

Speed (CCS) is the latest, patented plasma 

cutting technology from Kjellberg Finsterwalde 

for the cutting of outer contours and larger inner 

contours in steel. The Contour Cut technology 

cuts smaller contours, in particular holes with a 

diameter/material thickness ratio of 1:1, to the 

highest quality. 

CCS enriches the existing Contour Cut technology 

with a number of significant economic 

advantages, as there are reduced costs per metre 

cut as a result of higher cutting speeds in the 

quality area, very low heat-affected zone, high 

quality in terms of contour accuracy, perpendicularity 

and surface quality as well as 

further reduction of angular deviation at inner 

and outer contours and excellent repeat and 

dimensional accuracy. 

Contour Cut Speed is integrated as a standard 

feature of all new plasma cutting units in the 

HiFocus series. Users who already have a system 

with Contour Cut can also use CCS by getting an 

update. Older HiFocus systems can also be 

retrofitted with the new plasma torches of the 

PerCut 200 and 450 series to take advantage of 

the Contour Cut technology. 

/ 

Kjellberg Finsterwalde 

Plasma und Maschinen GmbH 

Oscar-Kjellberg-Straße 20 

03238 Finsterwalde 

phone +49 3531 500-0 

www.kjellberg.de 

(EE 130104572/1) 

(EE 130104572) K 

Contour Cut Speed 

offers cutting 

results of high 

repeat accuracy 

and precision 

(photo: Kjellberg). 

Resistance spot welding is the most common 

method for joining AHSS/UHSS steel in the 

automotive industry (photo: SSAB). 

»Over the years, we have received a lot of 

questions about welding with AHSS/UHSS, 

because it differs from welding with mild steels«, 

explains Tony Nilsson, Principal Specialist Joining 

at SSAB. The guide should be seen as a single, 

definitive and indepth summary of knowledge, 

research for automotive manufactures. It presents 

a detailed overview of the most common 

welding methods in the automotive industry: 

resistance spot welding, laser welding and arc 

welding. It provides a special focus on welding 

with UHSS, while revealing detailed test results 

and best-practice recommendations for both 

coated and uncoated AHSS/UHSS steels. 

The welding guide was developed by the SSAB 

Knowledge Service Center. The 80 page guide 

can be ordered on the internet (prize: 85 euros). 

It is available to all automotive manufactures 

and tier suppliers, as well as to other industrial 

segments that are interested. 

www.ssab.com/weldingguide 

/ 

(EE 130104845/1) 

(EE 130104845) K 


New company brochures K 41 

Albert Zimmermann & Söhne 

COMPAC ® -FLANGES New Generation 

4 pages, English 

Advantages of COMPAC-flanges over 

DIN-flanges are e.g. low weight, minor 

risk of leakage and higher density. 

COMPAC-flanges are known for their 

unique groove design. Furthermore they 

save material and can be arranged side 

by side without misalignment. Extension 

brackets and additional welds are no 

longer required. 

Bender-Ferndorf Rohr GmbH 

Pipes Made Of Steel 


For more than ninety years now, Bender- 

Ferndorf has produced pipes made of 

steel for various applications at its 

headquarters in Ferndorf, a district of 

Kreuztal in the Siegerland. Today, producing 

spirally welded pipes of high 

quality is the core competence of this 

traditional company. World wide delivery 

is assured through modern logistics. 

Albert Zimmermann & Söhne GmbH & Co. KG 

Winterberger Strasse 104, 57368 Lennestadt-Saalhausen, Germany 

phone +49 2723 9144-0, fax +49 2723 9144-30 

E-Mail: info@azs-gmbh.de, www.compacflansch.de 

(EE 130104831) K 

Bender-Ferndorf Rohr GmbH 

Mühlenweg 2 – 6, 57223 Kreuztal-Ferndorf, Germany 

phone +49 2732 552-0, fax +49 2732 552-100 

E-Mail: info@bender-ferndorf.de, www.bender-ferndorf.de 

(EE 130104826) K 

Carl Bechem GmbH 

COUTH BUTZBACH 

Special Lubricants for 

the Sheet Forming Industry 


Carl Bechem GmbH is managed as a 

family-owned company meanwhile in 

the sixth generation. Daughter companies 

are in France, India and Switzerland, 

Joint Ventures in the USA, South 

Africa, Sweden and China. The company 

is one of the global companies in the 

field of tailor-made high-performance 

lubricants. 

Industrial Marking 


COUTH presents the new series of 

MC2000 SuperFast dot marking 

machines. The system allows users to 

obtain indelible marks through 

percussion marking of successive dots. 

The company brochure also contains 

new control units, impact marking 

systems and numbering heads, types 

and engraving tools. 

Carl Bechem GmbH 

Weststrasse 120, 58089 Hagen, Germany 

phone +49 2331 935-0, fax +49 2331 935-1199 

E-Mail: bechem@bechem.de, www.bechem.com 

(EE 130104827) K 

COUTH BUTZBACH 

Potshauser Strasse 12, 42651 Solingen, Germany 

phone +49 212 881795-60, fax +49 212 881795-80 

E-Mail: vertrieb@couth-butzbach.de, www.couth-butzbach.de 

(EE 130104828) K 

esta rohr GmbH 

More dimensions. More grades. 

More possibilities. 

16 pages, English/German 

esta rohr GmbH produces a variety of 

diameters, e.g. for masts, chimneys, shell 

courses and pipelines as well as pipes for 

steel constructions. Furthermore, compo 

nents for offshore wind parks and 

crane construction are part of the portfolio. 

The company manufactures pipes 

with diameters up to 4,5 m, lengths up 

to 38 m, wall thicknesses up to 80 mm 

and all this in many different grades. 

Messerfabrik Neuenkamp GmbH 

Neuenkamp Slitting Technology 


The company has been manufacturing 

high precision longitudinal slitting and 

side trimming tools for over 80 years in 

Remscheid. The company offers e.g. roll 

shear knives, stripper rings, spacers, steel 

stripper rings and assembled knife sets. 

The main industrial sectors targeted are 

the steel and non-ferrous metals processors. 

esta rohr GmbH 

Mühlenweg 26, 57339 Erndtebrück, Germany 

phone +49 2753 5926-30, fax +49 2753 5926-31 

E-Mail: info@esta-rohr-erndtebrueck.de, www.esta-rohr-erndtebrueck.de 

(EE 130104829) K 

Messerfabrik Neuenkamp GmbH 

Neuenkamper Strasse 27, 42855 Remscheid, Germany 

phone +49 2191 9351-0, fax +49 2191 340906 

E-Mail: info@neuenkamp.de, www.neuenkamp.de 

(EE 130104830) K 


42 K Steel Events 

Date/location Subject Organiser Info/Contact 

18.-20.3.2013 

Hanover 

8. Pipeline Technology Conference EITEP – Euro Institute for Information 

and Technology Transfer in 

Environmental Protection GmbH 

+49 511 90992-22 

www.pipeline-conference.com 

19.-21.3.2013 

Nuremberg 

21.-23.3.2013 

Parma 

28.-30.3.2013 

Istanbul 

3.-5.4.2013 

Milan 

4.4.2013 

Milan 

8.-12.4.2013 

Hanover 

European Coatings SHOW NürnbergMesse GmbH +49 911 8606-8000 

www.european-coatingsshow.com 

MECSPE – Technologies for Innovation Senaf Srl +39 02 332039470 

www.mecspe.com 

BORU 2013 Ihlas Fair +90 212 454 25-03 

www.borufair.com 

Made in Steel 2013 Siderweb, Fiera di Milano +39 030 2548520 

www.madeinsteel.it 

III. International Steel Trade Day EUROMETAL, STSG +352 26259026 


Hannover Messe Deutsche Messe +49 511 89-0 

www.hannovermesse.de 

15.-21.4.2013 

Munich 

bauma – 30th International Trade Fair 

for Construction Machinery, Building Material 

Machines, Mining Machines, Construction 

Vehicles and Construction Equipment 

Messe München GmbH +49 89 949-11348 

www.bauma.de 

17.-20.4.2013 

Mumbai 

20.-22.4.2013 

Cologne 

29.-30.4.2013 

Toronto 

6.-8.5.2013 

Rotterdam 

6.-8.5.2013 

Amsterdam 

BLECH India 2013 Mack Brooks Exhibitions Ltd. +44 1727 814 400 

www.blechindia.com 

USETEC – World Trade Fair for Used Technology Hess GmbH +49 7244 7075-0 

www.usetec.com 

The International Nickel Conference Metal Bulletin +44 207779 7222 

www.metalbulletin.com 

IABSE Spring Conference 2013 IABSE +31 6 53403276 

www.iabse2013rotterdam.nl 

17. Annual Zinc & its Markets Seminar Metal Bulletin +44 207779 7222 


14.-15.5.2013 

Brno 

Stainless 2013 – 

7th International Stainless Steel Exhibition 

Messe Brünn +49 2801 982614 

www.stainless2013.com 

14.-16.5.2013 

Suzhou 

14.-16.5.2013 

Nuremberg 

BLECH China 2013 Mack Brooks Exhibitions Ltd. +44 1727 814 400 

www.blechchina.com 

SENSOR+TEST – The Measurement Fair AMA Service GmbH +49 5033 9639-0 

www.sensor-test.com 

14.-17.5.2013 

Stuttgart 

27. Control – 

International trade fair for quality assurance 

P. E. Schall GmbH & Co. KG +49 7025 9206-0 

www.control-messe.de 

16.5.2013 

Brussels 

22.5.2013 

London 

23.-24.5.2013 

London 

European Steel Day Eurofer +32 273879-48 

www.eurofer.eu 

4. Annual Green Steel Focus Day Platts +44 20 7176-6671 

www.platts.com 

9. Annual Steel Markets Europe Conference Platts +44 20 7176-6671 

www.platts.com 

29.-31.5.2013 

Singapore 

Iron Ore and Steel Trading and 

Risk Management Training Course: Asia 

Metal Bulletin +44 207779 7222 


31.5.2013 

Prague 

4.-5.6.2013 

Solingen 

17.-19.6.2013 

New York 

EUROMETAL STEEL NET FORUM 2013 EUROMETAL +352 262590 26 


13. German Flame cutting day Schneidforum Consulting GmbH & Co. KG +49 212 24710-47 

www.schneidforum.de 

Steel Success Strategies XXVIII Metal Bulletin +44 20 7779 7222 


You can also find detailed information on various events on our web site under 

»stahlmarkt European Edition 1.2013«, Events. 

Go straight to the PDF using this QR code on your smartphone or via our web site. 

/ 

www.stahlmarkt-magazin.de/ crossmedia 


Impressum 43 

In the next issue... 

Issue 2.2013 

Central & Eastern Europe 

Welding & Cutting 

Steel Innovations 

Steel Distribution, 

Service Centres & Steel Trading 

Publication date: August 23, 2013 

Ad closing date: August 2, 2013 

Editorial deadline: July 15, 2013 

Advertisers‘ index 

A 

AGTOS GmbH 25 

Automazioni Industriali Capitanio srl 19 

B 

BEPRO Blech und Profilstahl 

Handelsges.mbH & Co. KG Cover 

BM Elettronica Spa 5 

C 

Combilift Ltd. Co. 37 

E 

EEW-CTS GmbH 37 

I 

IBERO-Stahl GmbH 21 

IMS Messsysteme GmbH 9 

M 

Made in Steel srl 7 

Marcegaglia spa 

O.B.C. 

N 

Artur Naumann Stahl AG 17 

P 

Petig Edelstahlhandel GmbH 24 

R 

Rösler Oberflächentechnik GmbH 31 

T 

transfluid Maschinenbau GmbH 21 

V 

Voß Edelstahlhandel 

GmbH & Co. KG 

I.F.C. 

Impressum 

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