ThyssenKrupp Stainless GmbH has decided to build a 70,000 tpy bright annealing line for stainless flat products at the San Luis Potosí plant of ThyssenKrupp Mexinox SA. de CV. Supplementing three existing cold rolling mills and three annealing/pickling lines, the new line will expand cold rolling capacity from the current level of 215,000 to 250,000 tpy. This will allow the company to optimise its product range for existing and new customers, particularly in the USA and Mexico. In the future the ThyssenKrupp Mexinox product offering will include 60,000 tpy of sheet and strip in high-quality bright-annealed finishes, in part replacing stainless cold-rolled strip in conventional 2B finishes. Individual components of the new bright annealing line will come from a disused European line. The centrepiece will be a new gas-fired muffle furnace meeting the highest technical and environmental standards. Start of production is planned for the 1st quarter 2006. ThyssenKrupp Mexinox is Mexico’s only producer of stainless flat products and a key player in the North American stainless industry. In fiscal 2002/2003 it had 1,085 employees and sales of EUR 287 million. The company is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Stainless, the world’s biggest producer of stainless flat products and nickel-base alloys with production facilities in Germany, Italy, the USA, Mexico and China.
