Norway-based steel producer 7 Steel Nordic, part of Sev.en Global Investments, has started supplying steel billet to Czech steelmaker Nova Hut, opening the way for a potentially longer-term supply partnership between the companies, according to local media reports.
The first shipment of square billet from 7 Steel Nordic's plant in Mo i Rana, Norway, arrived at Nova Hut several weeks ago. The contracted initial volume amounts to several thousand tonnes, while both sides expect the cooperation to continue over the longer term.
Supplies could reach tens of thousands of tonnes
Nova Hut requires several hundred thousand tonnes of semi-finished steel products annually to feed its rolling operations, while 7 Steel Nordic is capable of supplying tens of thousands of tonnes per year, according to Libor Černý, head of Sev.en Global Investments' steel division. If the cooperation develops as expected, Norwegian material could eventually account for up to around 10 percent of Nova Hut's total material requirements.
The material supplied to Ostrava will primarily consist of conventional low and medium-carbon steel, which can be processed into products including sections, angles and rebar. Nova Hut has been seeking a stable source of quality semi-finished steel for further processing at its rolling mills and tube operations.
Billet will be transported from 7 Steel Nordic's port at Mo i Rana by sea to Poland and then by rail to the Ostrava plant.
Partnership could continue until Nova Hut starts its own EAF
The supply arrangement could remain economically viable at least until Nova Hut commissions its planned electric arc furnace (EAF). The Ostrava steelmaker plans to install an EAF with crude steel production capacity of up to 1.5 million mt per year. Its blast furnaces were decommissioned after the former Liberty Steel-owned business became insolvent, and the plant has since operated mainly as a rerolling facility using externally sourced semi-finished products.
Sev.en is also considering supplying Nova Hut with billet from its 7 Steel UK facility in Cardiff, Wales, although no agreement has been reached for such supplies at this stage.
