Tags: slab , hrc , crc , galvanized , coated , flats , semis , USA , Germany , Brazil , Europe , North America , South America , production , manufacturing , steelmaking , ThyssenKrupp , European Union | similar articles »

German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp addressed shareholders Friday in their annual meeting about the company's Q1 earnings. During the meeting, CEO Heinrich Hiesinger addressed frustrated shareholders about the ventures the company has taken in the Americas. Hiesinger told shareholders that the two plants -- one in Brazil and the other in the US state of Alabama -- would be posting negative numbers during the year. This is due in part to an unstable global economy and the overrun costs that plagued the construction of the plants in the Americas.  Hiesinger made it clear that he believes that the company can expect improvements and that he is sure that the Americas market offered "great prospects" and had a future. These comments come on the heels of a report released last Thursday by Germany's Manager Magazin which claimed that ThyssenKrupp was contemplating the sale of the Americas plants in order to cut their losses.