Ismail Demir, chairman of the board of Turkish long steel producer Kardemir Karabük Demir Çelik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. (Kardemir), has announced that the company will invest approximately $1.5 billion in the next five years, focusing on the company’s financial structure, value-added products and profitability that will increase its sustainable competitiveness. Mr. Demir stated that Kardemir aims to increase crude steel production from the current level of 2.5 million mt to 3.5 million mt within a short time and plans to double its value-added steel production in the next five years.
Stating that the company aims to enter new markets, the chairman of the board said that Kardemir targets to increase its market share from nine percent to 12 percent. In addition, the company, which spent approximately $160 million on environmental investments between 2006 and 2023, has allocated a budget of approximately $40 million for environmental investments this year. Kardemir aims to reduce carbon emissions by 15 percent by 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2053. Meanwhile, Demir stated that Kardemir’s energy investments are continuing and that it aims to produce 250 megawatts of renewable energy by the end of 2026.
Noting that the company has allocated a budget of approximately $10 million for R&D works, the chairman said that the company is undertaking initiatives to become a special industrial zone.