Company News

TATA Steel will invest GBP 8 million into one of its two Scottish plants, increasing its output by up to 50%. The company is set to unveil the plans for the Clydebridge plant in Cambuslang, Glasgow, which will boost its capability to produce high-strength steel plate. The plant carries out two processes, quenching and tempering, that strengthen steel plate.

SAIL intends to bring in professional global mining firms to operate its Chiria and Rowghat iron ore mines and the high grade coal blocks at Tasara. The company is looking for major mining companies who can offer the latest mining techniques with the least amount of waste and best environmental practices at Rowghat and Tasara. Big companies such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton could be expected to bid for these projects.

US-based Constellation and Exelon have announced merger plans.

UHT of Sweden has received an order from Sandvik Materials Technology for a new gas mixing station. The new station will be installed at the company’s steel plant in Sandviken. The valve station is capable of managing all gas mixes and offers superior automation possibilities for more efficient control of the converter process. It also manages larger gas flows to reduce production time. Having made numerous deliveries of complete, factory-made and tested gas mixing stations

Chevron has appointed Paul V. Bennett as vice president and treasurer, effective 1 May 2011. Having served in several senior corporate and operating financial positions, including oversight of Chevron's credit and receivables operations, Bennett is highly qualified to guide financing strategies for the company's overall corporate capital structure as well as their major development projects. He is broadly experienced in treasury and risk management and in his current position, Bennett played an instrumental role in helping to streamline the Downstream and Chemicals business, transforming it into a more profitable, lower-cost organization.

Cleeve Technology, supplier of wire & cable and interconnect products to electronics markets, has expanded its operations into Western Canada. This further enhances the company’s servicing abilities for its clients in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones. Established 12 years ago, Cleeve operates worldwide with offices in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany and Australia.

POSCO approved a USD 1.98 billion investment plan at its shareholders' meeting. The investment is for the construction of its third FINEX blast furnace, a No. 4 wire rod plant and a new stainless steel plant. Building the third FINEX blast furnace will improve its competitiveness, while constructing the No. 4 wire rod plant will allow the company to meet the rising demand for wire rod.

India-based Taurian Manganese is building a manganese processing plant in central Zambia with an investment of USD 150 million. Construction of the plant is expected to start by June 2011. It will have three furnaces with a combined peak capacity of 60,000 tns/mo. Production will start in 2012, with planned production of 720,000 tns/yr by 2014 dependent on Zambia’s power company Zesco being able to fulfill the power requirements of 100MW by that time.

International Finance Corporation, a branch of World Bank, will invest USD 30 million in Kalyani Gerdau Steels to help revive the company’s operations that were shut down for more than 18 months. A JV between the Brazilian steel firm Gerdau and India’s Kalyani group, the company discontinued operations upon realizing that they were unviable due to certain technical issues.

Petrobras Chile has received the 2010 Outstanding Company of the Year Award for its contribution to the economic development of Brazil and Chile. CEO of Petrobras Chile, Vilson Reichemback, accepted the award given by the president of the Chilean-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Juan Irarrázabal, and the Ambassador of Brazil in Chile, Frederico Cezar de Araújo, in Santiago.