Latin America-focused steelmaker Ternium plans to add 600,000 mt of capacity at its Pesqueria mill in Mexico, the company said. The capacity increase comes as Ternium ramps up a new flat steel hot-rolling mill at the Pesqueria complex, following its start-up in May this year.
Ternium said that to meet a strong demand for steel products in Mexico, the hot-rolling mill will increase what it labeled as the offering of “high-quality” steel products “by approximately 600,000 mt over the remainder of the year.”
CEO Maximo Vedoya said in a conference call with analysts that Ternium Mexico presents a positive market outlook.
“In Mexico, the driver behind our sales growth expectations for the second half of the year is the industrial market. Steel demand in this market is very strong. Manufacturing industries like … electrical motors and household appliances are having a record end user demand and a significant backlog greatly increasing in turn their steel consumption,” Vedoya said.
“The auto industry in Mexico is also having a strong end user demand. … In addition, we are seeing an increase in investment … in Mexico from these manufacturing industries. As our new hot rolling mill in Mexico is geared towards the product needs of the industrial markets, the ramp-up of this (Pesqueria) facility is going to help us increase even more our participation in this market over time,” he added.