OREANDA-NEWS. December 19, 2013. ArcelorMittal Ostrava has officially commissioned its continuous casting facility, with the Czech Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok attending a formal ceremony to mark the occasion. The USD53m investment will improve the quality of steel and billets produced for industries including the oil and gas sector. 

Attendees at the ceremony got a chance to watch the first casting of the hot steel being continuously cast into billets.

“Today, we have made a big leap towards improving the competitiveness of this company. The billion crowns of investment has enabled us to make steel of a better quality and purity,“ said Tapas Rajderkar, CEO and chairman of the board of ArcelorMittal Ostrava.

The modernisation will enable ArcelorMittal Ostrava to cast round billets with a diameter of up to 400mm compared with the current diameter of 210mm. The new formats will be used for the manufacture of high quality products, in particular seamless pipes for the oil and gas industry. The billets made in the revamped continuous casting facility will also be used for the manufacture of parts for wind power plants and railway wheels, leaf springs for the automotive industry and ring rolling for heavy machinery.

Part of the new technology includes a vacuum degasser which is equipped with a fabric filter with 99% efficiency. The newly built production facilities meet the requirements for the best available techniques (BAT).

ArcelorMittal Ostrava a.s. is the largest steelmaker in the Czech Republic and part of the world’s largest steel and mining group, ArcelorMittal. It has an annual production capacity of 3 million tonnes of steel. Besides the Czech market, the company sells its products to more than 40 countries around the world. ArcelorMittal Ostrava and its subsidiaries employ more than 7500 people. Average income of its employees amounted to 34,213 CZK in 2012. ArcelorMittal Ostrava produces iron and steel in compliance with all environmental legislation. It already conforms to the EU best available techniques (BAT) emission limits that will come into force in 2016. The sole shareholder is ArcelorMittal Holdings A.G.