Ternium Pesquería, in Nuevo León state, announced that it has started the first production tests of cold rolled coil and galvanized equipment installation.
So far, it has invested 85 percent of US$1.1 billion projected for the complex, which should be completed in five months, said Máximo Vedoya, CEO of Ternium Mexico.
"We have 3,500 people working now, we are at the peak, and we have 40 engineers who were trained in Japan in the technology of our partner Nippon Steel to transfer their knowledge Ternium staff," he said.
The plant will produce 1.5 million tons of cold rolled coil when it is fully operational.
The technological heart of the industrial complex is a center where 400,000 tons of cold rolled steel sheet will be galvanized, a process with technological features that do not exist in Mexico. The final product is intended for the automotive industry.
The coil may have a width of 1, 900 mm; currently, a maximum width of 1,500 mm is available in Mexico.
"This allows us to fill all the parts you need for a car. Previously we could not fill all, because it would have to be welded," explained Vedoya.
With this technology, Ternium expects replace between 1-1.5 million tons of specialty steel imports for the automotive industry.