ArcelorMittal Plans $1.0 Billion Three-year Investment Program in Mexico
[Click image to enlarge]
ArcelorMittal will make a US$1 billion, three-year investment program at its Mexican operations, which is focused on building ArcelorMittal Mexico’s downstream capabilities, sustaining the competitiveness of its mining operations and modernizing its existing asset base.
The program is designed to enable ArcelorMittal Mexico to meet the anticipated increased demand requirements from domestic customers, realize in full ArcelorMittal Mexico’s productive capacity of 5.3 million tonnes and significantly enhance the proportion of higher-value added products in its product mix, in-line with the company’s Action 2020 strategic plan.
The main investment will be construction of a new hot strip mill. Construction will take approximately three years and, upon completion, will enable ArcelorMittal Mexico to produce c. 2.5 million tonnes of flat rolled steel. Coils from the new hot strip mill will be supplied to domestic, non-auto, general industry customers. Further investments will be made at Lázaro Cárdenas to improve the quality and productivity of the asset base, with additional investment in the group’s Mexican mining operations.
This follows confirmation that the Mexican government has established five Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in southern Mexico to attract infrastructure investment in areas of undeveloped economic potential. Lázaro Cárdenas, home to ArcelorMittal Mexico’s primary steelmaking operations, was named a SEZ.
“In order to make investment decisions of the scale we have announced today we need both a favorable investment environment and confidence in long-term domestic growth prospects. I therefore warmly welcome the confirmation of the Special Economic Zones by the Mexican government, which establishes a positive regulatory investment framework aimed at facilitating economic and infrastructure development in the south of the country,” said Lakshmi Mittal, chairman and CEO, ArcelorMittal.
Our investment program is aligned with the Mexican government’s objectives, and will enable us to benefit from the anticipated increased demand for higher-added value steel products from domestic Mexican customers. It reinforces our long-standing presence in Mexico, will support the creation of approximately 800 new jobs, and play an important role in bolstering economic activity in the region,” added Mittal.
“Construction of the new hot strip mill, alongside the other projects in our investment program which are geared towards enhancing the efficiency and quality of our operations, will enable us to optimise our asset base and increase the proportion of finished steel products for our domestic customers,” said Victor Cairo, CEO, ArcelorMittal Mexico.
“The investments will help us to meet the demand requirements for higher-added value products we expect to see from domestic customers, which today are heavily dependent on imports, while continuing to support ArcelorMittal’s NAFTA operations by providing high-quality semi-finished steel slabs,” added Cairo.
ArcelorMittal Mexico currently produces c. 4 million tonnes of steel a year. Following completion of the investment program, production would be optimized to c. 5.3 million tonnes per year, with the proportion of finished steel for the domestic Mexican market significantly expanded. Flat rolled steel production would total c. 2.5 million tonnes, long steel c. 1.8 million tonnes with the remaining 1 million tonnes made up of semi-finished slabs.
About ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal is the world’s leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and an industrial footprint in 19 countries. Guided by a philosophy to produce safe, sustainable steel, they are the leading supplier of quality steel in the major global steel markets including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with world-class research and development and outstanding distribution networks.
To stop by ArcelorMittal’s website, CLICK HERE
Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!
FREE eNews delivery service to your email twice-weekly. With a focus on lead-driven news, our news service will help you develop new business contacts on an on-going basis.
CLICK HERE to register your email address.
Copyright © 2017 Mining Connection LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
For licensing permission, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
