AFV Beltrame, one of the largest producers of merchant bars and special steels in Europe, has started the process of staff recruitment, modernization, and rebar production under the Donalam brand, following the acquisition of COS Targoviste in March this year. With the restart of production operation at two plants - in Calarasi and Targoviste - Romania will once again have its own domestic rebar supplier after years of sourcing longs only via imports. Beltrame’s vision is to transform the old mill into a modern competitive European facility and the company plans to invest around €100 million over the next five years and to modernize 80 percent of the asset’s equipment.
Within the first phase of the project, the Donalam mills will produce around 10,000 mt of rebar per month and in 2023 the output will increase to 30,000 mt per month or around 300,000 mt per year, Beltrame’s official statement reads. With the completion of the green rebar and wire rod plant, scheduled for 2024, Donalam Targoviste will be able to supply around 700,000-800,000 mt of longs per year. As a result, even in the earlier stages, Romanian domestic rebar production will be able to cover around half of domestic requirements, coming mainly from the construction sector. Romania’s annual rebar consumption is estimated at around 600,000-700,000 mt and, at present, all the material is being imported, mainly from Turkey and Bulgaria, but also from Greece, Algeria, and Italy. Total rebar and wire rod consumption in Romania is estimated at 1.5 million mt. Once the Donalam restart project is successfully carried out, local traders and construction firms will certainly cover part of their needs from the domestic market, given the more favorable logistics, lead times and payment terms compared to imports.
Carlo Beltrame, responsible for group business development of AFV Beltrame Group, stated, “The restart of domestic production of rebar, an essential sector of the steel industry, is an important step towards Romania's reindustrialization and will provide the country with a breath of oxygen in the crisis of construction materials caused by the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine. With the planned investments in the modernization and development of production facilities, the Targoviște plant will once again become a backbone of the Romanian economy.”