Energy & Mining & Steel Industry
The Polish steel market “The steel market in recent years went up and down, with a boom in 2007–2008 followed by a serious slump during the 2009 global crisis and a revival in 2010. Today we’re all happy to see that the market has grown and that new demand has been generated. This augurs well for steel production and sales in coming years. More demand for steel also means more demand for raw-materials and energy. Jerzy Bojanowicz
“The raw-materials market is known for its fast-changing prices, which means we have to be cautious in our dealings with it. Nonetheless, the Polish steel industry has high hopes connected with preparations for the 2012 European Football Championship and the steadily-rising demand for consumer goods like cars, household articles, radios and TV sets and machinery”, Romuald Talarek, head of the Polish Steel Association (HIPH), rightly wrote in his preface to the Association’s Polish Steel Industry 2011 report. The 3rd European Economic Congress in Katowice (May 16–18) devoted three panel sessions to the steel market and steel industry. Here is what the delegates said: “The Polish steel industry is in good condition, we have raw-materials and a modern-day steel processing industry. Hence, if Polish economy manages to return to 2007’s steel consumption in the next 2 years – 12 million tonnes of steel products – it would be advisable to cut steel imports by 3–5%. It would also be worthwhile to make it
clear to the central government, that Poland needs a modern steel industry. Although steel industry only accounts for 23% of the GDP, it has a considerable bearing on services which generate 60%. However, a modern steel industry needs modern-minded employees and feasible proposals from the R&D sector on matters like emission reductions”, said Romuald Talarek. Krzysztof Walarowski, CEO at Ferrostal Łabędy Sp. z o.o. (Złomrex Group), producer of over 600,000 tonnes of steel products: “The future looks promising, however certain EU regulations which raise the production costs of better-quality steel may lead to a rise in imports from neighbouring countries which do not have to carry such high costs. Quality will be an alternative as long as we have a technological advantage. Our sheet steel lines, which among others produce for the automotive industry, work today at 110–115% of their capacity, hence we are seeking ways to raise this production, which is the most profitable of all today.” ::
In 2010 Poland produced 8.0 million tonnes of crude steel. Although this was 12.1% more than in 2009, it took up only 61.5% of the overall production capacity. Poland’s share in the EU’s steel production came to 5%, unchanged from 2009. Polish steel industry produced 6.9 million tonnes of hot-rolled products (2.35 million tonnes of flat products including 1.6 million tonnes of sheet steel strips, 4.54 million tonnes of long products including 1.9 million tonnes of steel rods), 10.9% up on 2009. Also up was the production of all sorts of cold-processed products (sheet steel and strips 48.8% - 851,000 tonnes, galvanized sheet steel and strips 15% - 455,000 tonnes, and organic-coated sheet steel and strips 50% - 235,000 tonnes). Steel piping production rose 7.2% to 839,000 tonnes and cold-forged closed section production 4.3% to 455,000 tonnes. Domestic steel consumption rose 20% and steel imports 22%.
Sanjay Samaddar CEO at ArcelorMittal Poland SA and director-general of the group’s Eastern European flat-rolled product section ArcelorMittal Poland (formerly Mittal Steel Poland) is the biggest steel manufacturer in Poland accounting for around 70% of the domestic steel industry’s production potential. ArcelorMittal Poland SA employs over 10,000 in six plants in Chorzów, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Kraków, Sosnowiec and Świętochłowice in southern Poland. The company’s annual output comes to 7.6 million tonnes of crude steel and about 6.5 million tonnes of rolled steel products. A large scale investment programme (almost PLN 4 billion between 2004 and 2010) made ArcelorMittal Poland one of Europe’s most advanced steel manufacturers.
Andrejs Aleksejevs President of the board of Severstallat Silesia Sp. z o.o. and JSC Severstallat Severstal is the major Russian industrial group with assets in metallurgical, raw material extraction, pipe and tube making and other sectors. Severstal is a full-production-cycle operation which includes iron ore, coal and gold mining enterprises, scrap collection, steel mills and rolled product plants, as well as downstream production and distribution businesses. In 2010 Severstal, which employs over 90,000 people, produced 14.7 million tonnes of steel, achieving USD 13.573 billion revenue (revenue in 2010 went up by 41% from 2009 level). Severstal comprises three business divisions: Severstal Resources, Severstal Russian Steel and Severstal International. Severstal Russian Steel is a leading steel producer in Russia with focus on value-added flat steel products for the construction, automotive, machinery, and oil and gas industries. Our Russian integrated manufacturing facilities are one of the largest in the CIS and offer some of the widest varieties of products. Today large quantities of our steel products already are sold via Severstal’s steel service centres in Latvia and Poland. We gained enough competence in tubes and closed sections production and flat steel processing. We have chosen two strategic locations and created European distribution centers in Poland and in Latvia in order to supply Central Europe and Baltic Sea countries with client-adjusted products.
Jerzy Bernhard CEO and Director-General, Stalprofil SA The present boom is an encouragement to take out credit and invest. It’s also possible to get EU funding. The best investment will be in broadening the product and service line and in processing as Europe is the site of numerous energy, gas, environmental and railway projects.
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