The executive board of Acciaierie Bertoli Safau (ABS), a steelmaking subsidiary of Italian plantmaker Danieli, has approved €600 million of investments in Italy and Croatia. For its headquarters in Cargnacco (Udine), it has approved an investment program of €400 million which includes a new electric oven, and a Danieli DigiMelter, driven by artificial intelligence and, according to the company, substantially "net zero" from environmental point of view.
The Danieli DigiMelter, stated the group, "is a milestone in the history of the steel industry and replaces the conventional electric furnace. The ABS plant at Cargnacco in Udine will be the first in Europe to use solar energy for fusion thanks to the installation of approximately 160,000 square meters of panels on the roofs of the warehouses." In the meantime, by May this year, a line for the production of high quality balls used for grinding minerals is expected to go into production. It will be the most innovative and competitive facility of its kind in the world, ABS underlined.
The group has also started a feasibility study for the expansion of production at its Sisak site in Croatia, where a new rolling mill will be installed for an investment of additional €200 million. According to the company, the goal is to produce 2.5 million tons per year of quality steels in an environmentally sustainable way.
The new program will generate 125 jobs in ABS technicians and about 250 external workers.