Spanish stainless steel producer Acerinox has announced the commissioning of phase one of its Malaysian joint venture Bahru Stainless. The other partners in the joint venture are Nisshin Steel with a 30 percent stake and Metal One with a three percent stake.
Phase one consists of a Sendzimir-type 1,500 mm cold rolling mill, a combined annealing and pickling line, a skin-pass mill and a finishing mill. Its production capacity amounts to 240,000 mt a year, and it has been built at a cost of US$370 million.
This event is the culmination of a long process started in 2007, with the feasibility studies approved by the Acerinox board in February 2008. The commissioning of the new facility strengthens Acerinox Group's position as the most global of stainless steel producers worldwide, with four factories in four continents. Besides, this latest investment is located in the region with the strongest growth in consumption.
The construction of phase two is reported to be proceeding at a good pace. This phase, for which startup is scheduled for the first quarter of 2013, will increase the production capacity to 400,000 mt a year. Likewise, it will allow Bahru Stainless to produce special steel grades and thin gauges, i.e., products with more added value. The investment for the second phase is estimated at US$310 million, including a cold rolling mill (ZM2), a cold annealing and pickling line (AP2), auxiliary lines, a laboratory, and an electric substation, which in the future will also feed the electric furnaces when they will be in operation. The project in its final stage will be an integrated stainless steel factory with a melting capacity of 1 million mt and a cold rolling capacity of 600,000 mt.