ArcelorMittal plans to inaugurate its 12th global research and development center in Brazil this month, the company announced Thursday.
According to the company, the new research center will focus on steel innovations for the automotive, energy, construction, machinery and white goods industries, and is expected to have a $20 million investment over the next five years.
The new R&D center will open at the company’s ArcelorMittal Tubarao plant and will use existing lab facilities in the Vitoria unit, in the state of Espirito Santo.
ArcelorMittal said the investment includes the purchase of equipment for process simulations, product characterization as well as analytical models to reinforce the currently existing scientific structure. The new center will require around 30 new positions of researchers and technicians.
“The new research center aims to meet the demands from both long and flat carbon South America in the following three areas: product development, process development and customer services. The work carried out in Brazil will complement that of existing R&D centers in the group,” the company said in a statement.
ArcelorMittal invested $260 million in R&D in 2014. Out of this total, 57 percent was dedicated to research in products, 37 percent for processes and 6 percent for exploratory research.