Italy’s AFV Beltrame Group is investing over €11.3mn ($13.4mn) in modernizing the Donalam steel plant in Calarasi, Romania.
The special steel bar producer is updating the over four decades old rolling mill’s technology to increase a variety of operational efficiencies, which, in turn, will reduce carbon emissions by up to 40pc.
The new machines and technology will decrease gas consumption by 40pc to 2.4mn annually, save thermic energy use, conserve electricity, and reduce the amount of steel wasted in the production process by about 1,440mt annually, Beltrame told the local media. Carbon emissions are slated to reduce by almost 5,000mt annually.
Beltrame established a joint venture with GMH to import raw material from Germany and process hot rolling and finishing processes in Romania. The raw material is also being purchased from Austria’s voestalpine.
The company is analyzing an additional investment of €100mn in the Romanian steel plant to install more environmental-friendly equipment. The new machines would include a reheating furnace, electrical drivers, and water treatment system and would provide high production flexibility for round and square sections from continuous casting.
In May 2020, the Donalam steel mill completed a €4mn investment to incorporate value-added services such as coating treatments and finishing. The company seeks to develop more products for the automotive industry.
The Donalam steel site employs about 270 employees and achieved revenues of €78mn on tonnage sales of 106,000mt in 2019. Beltrame produces special steel bar, rebar, beams, and merchant bars with mills in Switzerland, Italy, France, and Romania. The group sells over 2mn mt of steel annually.
($1=€0.845)