Aferpi has announced that it reached agreement with German turnkey contractor SMS Group to buy a new electric arc furnace (EAF) and a new rolling mill, Kallanish learns from the Italian steelmaker.

The new EAF will be able to produce special steels and guarantee low energy consumption with an installed [… annual] capacity of 1 million tonnes, Aferpi says in a statement. The German company will also supply a “… new generation rolling mill with a capacity of 750,000t,” which will enable the production of head-hardened rail up to 120 metres in length. The mill will also produce beams, sheet piles and profiles in special steels, the company adds.

The news was welcomed by both the local unions and the regional institutions. “Every step forward in the Piombino project is a contribution to the recovery of the entire economy of the Tuscan coast,” Tuscany region president Enrico Rossi said.

The Piombino-based steelmaker has recently signed a series of contracts to supply rails to Iran, Montenegro, Algeria, Nigeria and Turkey (see Kallanish 19 March).