Global steelmaker ArcelorMittal has announced that it has recently approved a €18 million investment to upgrade the continuous casting line at its Industeel Belgium site in Charleroi.
The upgrade project will increase maximum slab thickness at the Charleroi site from 300 mm to 355 mm, and maximum length from 2,100 mm to 2,200 mm. These larger slabs will then be used to produce 125 mm thick heavy plates, the product of choice of customers in the boiler and pressure vessel construction market.
The investment will also allow the company to better serve its customers in the stainless steel, high-limit elasticity and moulds sectors through the production of 150 mm and 175 mm heavy plates.
The upgrade will be performed during the annual shutdown in July and August 2015. Commercial production is scheduled for the first quarter of 2016.