Liberty Steel will invest €15 million in the historic Piombino-based Magona steel mill in Italy, which was officially acquired from ArcelorMittal last July. The announcement was made by Sanjeev Gupta, executive president of the British-based group GFG Alliance, of which Liberty Steel is a part, during the inauguration ceremony for Liberty Magona on September 16. The investment has the aim to increase production and guarantee the long-term sustainability of the plant. In particular, it will make it possible to produce around 800,000 mt per year of galvanized and pre-painted steels, against the current 550,000 mt.
Mr. Gupta stated, "Currently, a 100-day review phase is underway and during it our managers are presenting different ideas that will have to be discussed. After that, a decision will be taken within a month for a plan that will last two years. We plan to complete the integration [of Magona] this year, slowly but carefully.” He added that the group is already making an important investment of €5 million to restart its pickling line with the aim of guaranteeing greater production flexibility. The plant will come into operation next year, and about twenty people will be hired for its needs.
Gupta has also guaranteed the local management, led by new CEO Giovanni Carpino, full freedom of action in the market for supplies. The agreement with ArcelorMittal in fact guarantees the supply of hot rolled coils for five years, but Liberty Magona will be able to act independently in the raw materials market. Once works have been completed at the Galati plant in Romania (which also was acquired by Liberty Steel from ArcelorMittal), Liberty Magona will be able to use the products coming from the Romanian plants.
Finally, the GFG Alliance president emphasized that the group will try to reduce workplace accidents to zero. At present, the plant employs around 460 workers.
In recent months, Liberty Steel has entered the top ten world producers and currently ranks in third place in Europe, with a total rolling capacity of over 18 million mt.