ArcelorMittal, Borusan to invest $500M in Turkish mill

ArcelorMittal, the world’s No. 1 steel company, and Borusan, one of Turkey’s leading steel producers, on October 22 announced the formation of a 50/50 joint venture and a US$500 million investment in the construction of a new hot strip mill in Gemlik, Turkey.

The mill, which will be located in Turkey next to ArcelorMittal and Borusan’s jointly operated Borçelik plant in Gemlik, on the Marmara sea coast, is planned to come online in the first half of 2010 with a capacity of 4.8 million tonnes. Slabs for this hot strip mill will mainly be sourced from ArcelorMittal, which will ensure a regular supply of high-quality products to better serve the booming Turkish steel market. A memorandum of understanding was signed by both parties on October 22. The implementation of the proposed joint venture is subject to customary regulatory clearances.

Michel Wurth, member of ArcelorMittal’s group management board in charge of Flat Carbon Europe, said: “The Turkish steel market is strong and expected to grow at a yearly rate of at least 6 percent over the next ten years. We at ArcelorMittal are very excited at the prospect of expanding our cooperation with our partner Borusan into the hot-rolled coil business. This hot strip mill will offer high-grade products which we believe can be very successful on the Turkish market.”

Agah Ugur, CEO of Borusan Holding, said: “Borusan is an experienced and leading steelmaker on the Turkish market. Our cooperation with ArcelorMittal over the past years has much helped to develop the Turkish steel industry and economy. Only in August last year did ArcelorMittal and Borusan decide to jointly build a galvanizing line, the third at our common Borçelik plant. Thanks to this cooperation, Borçelik is today the most modern galvanizing facility in Turkey and the leading supplier to the automotive industry. Currently, Turkey imports large volumes of hot-rolled coil, and it makes perfect sense to locate such a facility at Gemlik, which has its own port and an ideal industrial layout for such a purpose.”