Outokumpu plans to strengthen US business with new hot-rolling plant

Finland's stainless steel company, Outokumpu Co. Ltd, recently announced that it is planning about building a hot-rolling (HR) plant in the US. This is part of their efforts to make their business in the US even stronger.

Outokumpu has cold-rolled (CR) plant at its Calvert Plant in Alabama (US). But for hot-rolling, they have been getting help from the company called AM/NS Calvert, which is owned by Nippon Steel and ArcelorMittal. However, Outokumpu might end their contract with AM/NS Calvert in October 2026.

Increasing capacity and equipment

Outokumpu is considering building their own hot-rolling plant. The current contract with AM/NS Calvert can last for up to 36 years, but there is a clause that allows either party to end the contract if they give 36 months' notice. If everything goes as planned, the earliest date for this change would be October 1, 2026.

Financial update

On the same day as the announcement, Outokumpu shared their financial results for the period of January to June 2023. They made a net profit of EUR 186 million (JPY 29.3 billion), but this was a 67.2% y-o-y decrease against same period of the previous year. They also shipped 13.6% less stainless steel y-o-y, with a total of 1.01 million tonnes (mnt). In FY22, they shipped a total of 2.12 mnt of stainless steel, and out of that, 654,000 tonnes (t) were sent to the US.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and SteelMint.