Company News

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.

Nordex has added the N117/2400 wind turbine to its Gamma Generation of turbines. The new turbine was designed specifically for light wind sites, creating new power generating potential for locations across the USA. The company will debut the N117/2400 for the US market at Windpower in Anaheim, California from May 2011. The new turbine will increase America’s wind potential by turning many light wind sites into feasible power producing areas.

The Minister of Industry has approved Cliffs Natural Resources proposed acquisition of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Limited, under the Investment Canada Act. The acquisition was approved on the basis that the transaction will likely be a net benefit to Canada.  The Chinese Ministry of Commerce's (MOFCOM) approval is also necessary to proceed with the closing of the acquisition

Siemens VAI Metals Technologies (Siemens) is constructing a new rolling mill for stainless steel bar and light profiles in India for Viraj Profiles Limited (Viraj Profiles). As per the agreement, Siemens will design, engineer and deliver mechanical, electrical and automation equipment. The value of the order is estimated in the double digit million Euro range.

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has received the SCOPE Meritorious Award for Environmental Excellence & Sustainable Development for 2009-10. CS Verma received the award and accompanying scroll of honour at a function held at Vigyan Bhawan.  Verma also received the Certificate of Maharatna Status for SAIL. The company’s environmental efforts have resulted in reduced air emissions, decreased to 1.12kg per tonne of crude steel in FY ’11, a reduction of 55%.

Siemens has started up its second COREX C 3000 Module 02, installed with a production capacity of 1.5 million tns of hot metal per year, at the steelworks of Shanghai Baosteel Pudong Iron and Steel Co Limited in Luojing. The company's decision to install a second COREX plant coincides with the company's commitment to cost effective and environmentally friendly iron production that meets the emission regulations enforced imposed by the Shanghai municipal government. Siemens VAI provided the complete process technology, and engineered and supplied key equipment and components for the COREX module.