Antonio Marcegaglia, CEO of number one European tubemaker Marcegaglia SpA, has stated that the company plans to invest either directly or through a joint venture in a new hot rolled band facility having a capacity of 1.5-2.0 million tons.
The Italian tubemaking giant has been registering a compound growth rate of almost 14 percent for the last decade or so. The turnover of the company has reached €4.5 billion, with an annual output of five million tons of steel. Marcegaglia was known as a major buyer of hot rolled coils in the spot market during the nineties and also early in the current decade. However, as Mr. Marcegaglia explained, as the market changed they also altered their purchasing policy, moving to secure structural supplies from the BRE.M.A. and Teesside plants.
In line with the above strategic sourcing policy, Mr. Marcegaglia also confirmed that Marcegaglia SpA is going to invest in a new hot rolled band capacity of between 1.5 and two million tons, either through a joint venture or directly, in a location not distant from Marcegaglia's premises. This investment is directed to cover the additional requirements which are expected to emerge by 2011, when the company's production volume reaches eight million tons of steel.