Mescier, the Turkey-based steelmaker, is preparing to start test crude steel production at its 1mn mt electric arc furnace (EAF) in the second half of January. The company plans to also diversify its product range with billets.
The Turkish steelmaker has already started ferrous scrap purchases from the short-sea and domestic market, to build its EAF inventory.
The company’s exports increased from 70pc to 80pc this year amid contraction in the local market. Rolling mills (with a total capacity of 700,000mt per year) have run at around 65pc capacity utilization rate this year.
Mescier has announced that with the launch of its EAF, the company plans to play an important role in the Black Sea region in supplying billet to rolling-mills and plans to decrease its own billet imports considerably. The company purchases 600,000-700,000mt of billets, of which 90pc are from the CIS region, a company representative told Davis Index. The company is likely to diversify its merchant bar product range after producing its own 180-200 mm billets.
Excluding Kardemir, which sells billets unregularly, Mescier will be the second crude steel producer that will regularly supply billets the in Black Sea region after Yesilyurt.