The world's number one steelmaker ArcelorMittal has announced the signing of an agreement to acquire the assets of OFZ, one of the leading ferroalloys manufacturers in Central Europe.
Northern Slovakia-based OFZ mainly produces a wide range of manganese- and silicon-based ferroalloys, namely ferromanganese, ferromanganese-silicon and ferrosilicon, while other activities include cored wire production.
The OFZ plant is in close proximity to ArcelorMittal's Eastern European mills, including those in Ostrava (Czech Republic) and Poland - places where it has historically been a supplier. Having an annual operating capacity of 150,000 mt using six furnaces, OFZ produced 141,000 mt of ferroalloys in 2006.
Commenting on the acquisition, ArcelorMittal's CFO and group management board member Aditya Mittal said, "This acquisition further strengthens our ferroalloy supply portfolio, following our recent announcement that we had entered into a strategic equity partnership to develop Kalagadi Manganese's manganese resources in South Africa."