Austrian steelmaker voestalpine AG has announced that it has opened the world’s largest production site for laser-welded blanks in ultra high-strength steels, which will then be processed into automotive components, in Linz. According to voestalpine, in future 20 million blanks a year will be produced in Linz and exported throughout the world.
The company stated that, as well as driving forward its strategy of globalization, it is continuing to focus on Austria, extending its automotive capacities at the new site in Linz and investing around €30 million in its second plant for laser-welded blanks. The investment has created around 70 new jobs. Production of an extra five million laser-welded blanks each year at the new plant (in addition to current production of 15 million blanks a year) is expected to raise voestalpine’s annual revenue from its current level of €113 million to more than €160 million over the coming years.