ArcelorMittal to invest $26 mln on Krakow CR mill upgrade

ArcelorMittal plans to ramp-up production at its cold-rolling steel mill in Krakow, Poland, until the end of this year, the company said this week.

The company announced an investment program worth 105 million zloty ($26.4 million) for its CR mill in Krakow, which has capacity for 1 million tonnes per year.

“As part of the program, the company will implement three projects: replacement of the rolling mill motors, modernization of the sheet etching line, and the purchase of a new grinding machine. Completion of the program is scheduled for the end of this year,” the company’s release read.

Modernization of the sheet etching line will start in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Krakow is ArcelorMittal’s last flat steel-making facility in Central and Eastern Europe, following the sale of its mills in the Czech Republic and Romania. These were divested in 2018 while it sought permission to acquire Italy’s Ilva steelworks.

In October 2020, the company permanently closed the hot zone at Krakow due to the dramatic effects of Covid-19 on the European steel market, but the coke plant and rolling mills have remained operational.

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