German steel producer ThyssenKrupp Steel AG (TKS) has announced the commissioning of its new blast furnace no. 8, which was built for the purpose of securing hot metal production for the company's plants in Germany.
In a statement on the issue, TKS said that the construction of the blast furnace no. 8 was completed earlier than planned and that it will manufacture around 5,600 mt of hot metal per day.
Currently, ThyssenKrupp Steel operates four blast furnaces which produce around 11.5 million mt of hot metal per annum at its Duisburg site. In the scope of its blast furnace program, TKS will replace its existing blast furnace no. 4 with the newly built one and extensively modernize its blast furnace no. 9. The total amount TKS has invested in the construction of blast furnace no. 8 alone is €250 million.
In addition to the said program, TKS is currently investing around €6 billion in capacity expansions as part of its forward strategy. A new steel mill with an annual capacity of five million mt is currently under construction in Brazil and slated for completion in spring 2009.