The Russian steel producer Severstal has received the European Commission's (EC) clearance under EU Merger Regulation for its proposed joint venture with Holding Gonvarri Russia S.L. (Gonvarri Russia), which belongs to Spanish steel and motor vehicle parts producer Gonvarri Corporación Financiera S.L (Gonvarri), a division of Gestamp Corporation, Spain. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, in early June this year Severstal and Gestamp Corporation's Gonvarri registered a new joint venture, within the framework of which the construction of a new 170,000 mt capacity metal service center was commenced in Russia's Kaluga region, aimed at meeting the needs of the automobile industry, as well as of the electro-technical, electronic and construction industries. The total investments in the service center are estimated at €40 million, while its construction is scheduled to be completed in Q1 2010, at the same time as the commissioning of the Gestamp-Severstal JV automobile stamping plant in the Kaluga region.
The construction of the Gestamp-Severstal JV automobile stamping plant will be finished in the fourth quarter of 2009 and the plant is to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2010. The new plant will include several press lines produced by the Spanish appliance manufacturer Fagor, and will produce auto body parts for the factory of leading German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen which is located in the same industrial zone in Kaluga. The total investments in the plant amount to €80 million.