Vincenza-headquartered Italian merchant bar and profiles producer AFV Beltrame has received the green light from the London Metal Exchange (LME) for three brands of its billet to be available for delivery on the LME futures contract market effective as of Monday, May 21, as reported by international media sources.
AFV Beltrame operates two electric arc furnaces in Italy: the main one is based at its headquarters in Vicenza, Veneto with an annual production capacity of 1.1 million mt of crude steel, while its furnace in San Didero, Piedmont can produce up to 800,000 mt of crude steel a year.
The Vicenza facilities can produce 140S and 140L steel billets, while the San Didero site can deliver 140S, 150S, 140L and 150L grades.
Moreover, Beltrame also operates a rolling mill at its French subsidiary Lamines Marchands Europeens, which is able to produce 125S, 125L, 140S and 140L steel billets.
As the semi-finished products are produced at three different plants, three different brand names have been created for their use in LME billet futures contracts. Accordingly, Beldid is the brand name for the San Didero plant, Belvic is the brand name for the Vicenza plant and Lamine is the brand name for the French subsidiary.
Beltrame is the second Italian steelmaker to be approved for LME billet futures contacts after Feralpi, which delivers billets from its steel mill in Calvisano, Brescia and from Elbe Stahl Werke Feralpi in Riesa, Germany.