Green light for Brazilian steel mill

The Supervisory Board of ThyssenKrupp has approved a project to build a steel mill in Sepetiba in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. The plant, which will be operated by CSA Companhia Siderùrgica do Atlantico, is scheduled to start production in early 2009.

The options for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) strategy were also presented to the Supervisory Board. ThyssenKrupp Steel aims to achieve a share of at least 5 per cent of the high-value volume market in North America.

As well as the possible acquisition of Canadian steel producer Dofasco, which would allow this objective to be reached quickly, other alternatives are being considered. A feasibility study is being drawn up for a greenfield option with rolling and coating capacities for 4.5 million tonnes of end products per year. Total investment is estimated at €1.8 billion. The results are to be presented to the Supervisory Board at its meeting in August.

With global steel demand continuing to grow strongly, and the company’s own requirements for its growth strategy increasing, the capacity of the Brazilian steel mill has been raised from the previously planned level of 4.4 million tonnes to 5.0 million tonnes.

The Supervisory Board approved the investment budget of $2.4 billion for the modified Brazilian steel mill project.