New York (Platts)--20Jan2011/404 pm EST/2104 GMT
ArcelorMittal Dofasco has committed to spend C$253 million ($253.5 million) by 2013 to upgrade the company's Hamilton, Ontario, steelmaking operations, the company said Tuesday. The Ontario government is also investing C$43.6 million in Hamilton, according to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade in a separate statement. The C$130 million primary optimization project, with C$100 million investment from ArcelorMittal Dofasco and C$30 million from Ontario, is a three-year upgrade program intended to save electricity, harness waste gases and reduce emissions, ArcelorMittal Dofasco said. This includes the overhaul and restart of the idled No. 3 blast furnace, including relining and new air emission technology, and greater flexibility between basic oxygen and electric arc furnace steelmaking processes, the company said. The project will create 30 new jobs at the Hamilton facility, as well as preserving jobs for the 5,000 workers there, according to ArcelorMittal Dofasco. It will result in a local capital investment of more than C$100 million -- with much of it sourced to material supply, fabrication, construction and engineering trades in the Hamilton area, the company said. By transferring slab production to the Hamilton flat-roll facility from other plants operated by ArcelorMittal Dofasco, the project will also reduce overall energy use and increase the potential slab production in Hamilton by about 20%, the company said. The C$153 million finishing optimization project is slated to replace the plant's aging galvanizing operations with an advanced finishing plant, ArcelorMittal Dofasco said. Ontario is contributing up to C$30 million to the galvanized renewal project. The first line startup (#4 Galvalume) is set to be completed in first quarter 2012 and the second startup (#6 Galvanize) in Q1 2013, the company said. The project will replace two aging galvanized lines and will be more fuel efficient and produce a greater product range, it said. ArcelorMittal Dofasco produces steel used mainly by Ontario's automotive assembly plants as well as in energy, construction, food packaging and consumer goods. --Andrea Brown, andrea_brown1@platts.comSimilar stories appear in Steel Markets Daily. See more information at http://bit.ly/SteelMarketsDaily