Tata Steel is to install a new slitting line at Service Center Gelsenkirchen GmbH in Germany.
The service centre currently operates one slitter and one cut-to-length line at Gelsenkirchen, whose output is largely destined for the automotive industry. The second slitting line, together with the associated expansion of the Gelsenkirchen site, will cost €8.6 million. The line will have a capacity of 140,000tpa and almost double the site’s existing slitting capacity. It is due to come on stream in early 2012.
Jochen Hoefges, General Manager Service Center Gelsenkirchen, said: “Our strategy towards the automotive sector is to increase the volume and technical innovation of the products we offer. The Gelsenkirchen investment is an example of this ambition and will further strengthen Tata Steel’s downstream capability to serve this specific sector. The new slitting line will raise the service centre’s capacity as well as its product portfolio, establishing an Automotive Centre of Excellence. The line is designed to process Advanced and Ultra High Strength Steel (AHSS and UHSS) grades, matching the growing demand for more advanced automotive products.”
Service Center Gelsenkirchen GmbH was established in 2000 and is part of Tata Steel’s European distribution network. About 90% of its throughput serves the automotive industry. The facility’s capacity today, before the expansion, is 225,000tpa (155,000tpa of slitting capacity and 70,000tpa of cut-to-length capacity). The new slitter will be able to process coil in thicknesses of 0.4-4mm and widths up to 1,650mm, with a maximum yield strength of 1400N/mm2.
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About Tata Steel in Europe
The European operations of Tata Steel (formerly known as Corus) comprise Europe's second largest steel producer. With main steelmaking operations in the UK and the Netherlands, they supply steel and related services to the construction, automotive, packaging, material handling and other demanding markets worldwide.
Tata Steel is one of the world’s top ten steel producers. The combined group has an aggregate crude steel capacity of more than 28 million tonnes and approximately 80,000 employees across four continents.