Global industrial group GFG Alliance, the parent company of the international industrial and metals group Liberty House, will invest €2 billion in Europe, mainly in Romania and the Czech Republic, to modernize its plants and increase production, according to a Reuters report. The UK-based giant led by Sanjeev Gupta said that part of the investments will be used to install electric furnaces with the aim of reducing emissions and reaching “carbon neutrality” by 2030.
GFG will invest €1 billion in the Galati plants in Romania and €750 million in the Ostrava plants in the Czech Republic. Neil Barrell, GFG's global chief operating officer, stressed that there are currently no jobs at risk given that the new plants, while requiring less than half the workforce, will not replace coal-fired furnaces. The investment in Galati will increase production to 4 million mt per year, while output in Ostrava could grow by more than 50 percent. To date, Galati has a capacity of 3.6 million mt of steel, while Ostrava can produce up to 3 million mt. However, both plants are operating below their capacities.
Last July, GFG Alliance completed through Liberty House the purchase from ArcelorMittal of several European assets for €740 million. The assets included ArcelorMittal Ostrava (Czech Republic), ArcelorMittal Galati (Romania), ArcelorMittal Skopje (Macedonia), ArcelorMittal Piombino (Italy), ArcelorMittal Dudelange (Luxembourg) and several finishing lines at ArcelorMittal Liège (Belgium).
Of the €2 billion in investments that have been announced, €250 million will go to other European plants. In particular, according to SteelOrbis sources, investments of €100 million are planned for Liberty Magona in Piombino, Italy, in order to update the plant's coated and galvanizing lines “to restore the plant’s long-term profitability” said Sanjeev Gupta. Liberty Magona has a production capacity of 700,000 mt of galvanized and pre-painted steel per year and has more than 460 employees. Its production lines consist of a pickling line, a cold rolling mill, three hot-dip galvanizing lines (two of which are in operation), two painting lines (one in operation) and two cutting lines.