Giuseppe Pasini, president of Italian long steel producer Feralpi Group, has stated that the port of Carrara in Tuscany may become an alternative to the port of Marghera for the steel export activity of the company. Feralpi currently exports most of its steel products via the port of Marghera near Venice. "We are alreading operating through the port of Carrara and we want to double our export volumes immediately, reaching 10,000 mt per month," he stated.
The decision has been sparked by Feralpi's cooperation with Carrara-based scrap trader Fermet. Raw material leaves Fermet's scrapyards reaching Feralpi's Lonato, Brescia-based steelworks, while long products (rebar, wire rod and wire rod mesh) are transported in the opposite direction towards the port of Carrara and loaded on ships in order to be delivered to Algeria. Pasini went on to say that Algeria is very important in the steel sector, with its huge infrastructural development, adding that the market in North Africa overall is expanding.
Explaining the advantages of Carrara, the director of Carrara port authority stated, "The trip to the North African coast is two days shorter compared to the trip from Marghera and we can provide faster loading and unloading operations."