Indian steel giant Tata Steel has announced that it will install a new 140,000 mt capacity slitting line at its Service Center Gelsenkirchen GmbH in Germany to double the site's existing slitting capacity for the automotive industry.
Accordingly, a part of Tata Steel's European distribution network, Service Center Gelsenkirchen currently operates one slitter and one cut-to-length line with about 90 percent of output being destined for the automotive industry. The facility's annual capacity today, before the expansion, is 225,000 mt, including 155,000 mt of slitting capacity and 70,000 mt of cut-to-length capacity.
The second slitting line, which will be able to process coil in thicknesses of 0.4-4.0 mm and in widths up to 1,650 mm, together with the associated expansion of the Gelsenkirchen site, will cost €8.6 million. The new line is due to come on stream in early 2012.
"Our strategy towards the automotive sector is to increase the volume and technical innovation of the products we offer. The new slitting line will raise the service center's capacity as well as its product portfolio, establishing an Automotive Centre of Excellence. The line is designed to process advanced and ultra high strength steel (AHSS and UHSS) grades, matching the growing demand for more advanced automotive products," Service Center Gelsenkirchen's general manager Jochen Hoefges said.