For the voestalpine Group, the first half of the business year 2023/24 was dominated by the finalization of forward-looking investment projects. For example, the Steel Division initiated the final phase for the new integrated pickling line in cold rolling mill 3 (“BETA 3”) at the Linz site in Austria. The High Performance Metals Division started the ramp-up phase for the new high-tech special steel plant in Kapfenberg, Austria, in the first quarter of the business year 2023/24.
voestalpine also pushed ahead with greentec steel, the step-by-step plan for decarbonizing steel production. In a first step, one electric arc furnace will be built at each of the two sites in Linz and Donawitz, both in Austria, by 2027. Initial work was already started in the previous year to clear the construction sites and implement the necessary infrastructure measures. These activities were continued in the first half of the business year 2023/24. In September 2023, the groundbreaking ceremony for the two plants took place.
The voestalpine Group invested EUR 484.8 million in the first half of the business year 2023/24. Compared to the previous year, this was an increase of 47.9% (H 1 2022/23: EUR 327.8 million).
In the reporting period, the Steel Division invested EUR 250.7 million. By comparison, this figure was EUR 147.6 million in the first half of 2022/23. One major project already well advanced is the new integrated pickling line in cold rolling mill 3 (“BETA 3”). The fully automated tandem pickling line will allow a further increase in quality in the production of high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels for the automotive, household appliance and construction industries as well as of electrical steel for e-mobility. In the future, pickling will be carried out with hydrochloric acid instead of sulfuric acid as in the past. This will be recycled in a closed-loop system by means of a regeneration plant, which will be built in the immediate vicinity. The annual capacity is 2 million tons. The process equipment was delivered in the first half of the business year 2023/24, and the ramp-up is scheduled to start as planned at the end of 2023.
Progress was also made on the greentec steel project and the preparatory work for the new electric arc furnace (EAF) in Linz. Clearance of the construction site continued, for example the hot metal solidification and residual slag recycling facilities were relocated. In addition, work on the infrastructure continued. This includes the adaptation of the scrap yard, the transformer station for the 220 kV line and the conveyor belt bridge which will supply raw materials to the electric arc furnace.
In the metallurgical area, the Steel Division implemented maintenance measures such as the interim repair of an 8-m blast furnace, for which a new lining concept was installed. At the steel mill, maintenance work was carried out on the secondary metallurgy and continuous casting lines.
At the Linz location, power plant block 08 is being built for the company’s own power plant. In the future, metallurgical gases from the voestalpine plant will be converted into electricity there. The first contracts have already been awarded—including for the boiler, the turbine, the electrical system and the simulator.
The High Performance Metals Division invested EUR 66.9 million in the first half of the business year 2023/24. This is a minus compared to the previous year, when the investment volume was EUR 68.0 million. The focus was on the ramp-up of the new special steel mill at the Kapfenberg location in Austria. The world’s most modern special steel mill will run in intermittent operation with the old steel mill until the end of the year. The official opening took place on October 18, 2023, with the first product for sale manufactured in May 2023 and full operation starting at the end of 2023. The certification process for the entire product range will extend over the business year 2023/24.
With the new special steel plant, voestalpine is setting benchmarks in terms of sustainability and digitization: With fully digitized plants, highly automated processes, and significant process improvements. The new plant will enable voestalpine to supply customers with even better material qualities and further expand its global market leadership in tool and special steels. A total of 205,000 tons of special steels will be produced annually for the international aerospace, oil and natural gas, automotive and tool industries.
The Metal Engineering Division’s investment volume in H 1 2023/24 amounted to EUR 91.3 million, up 89.4% year-on-year. (H 1 2022/23: EUR 48.2 million). Particular focus was placed on the greentec steel project and the new electric arc furnace (EAF) in Donawitz. At the Donawitz site, necessary construction areas are already being cleared, for example by demolishing the old continuous caster and the old track grinding. In the future, the EAF and the new scrap hall will be located on this site. Furthermore, APG (Austrian Power Grid) and Energie Steiermark are working on the infrastructure for the energy supply. The contract for the plant construction was already awarded in the Northern summer of 2023.
In Kindberg, Austria, the program included maintenance measures in the production of seamless steel tubes (Tubulars product segment)—specifically the modernization of the rotary hearth furnace including chimney.
At the Kindberg site, the Metal Engineering Division is also investing in a production facility for seamless sectional tubes, a sectional tube finishing line, and a hall for the equipment. In the previous year, the division purchased the equipment including all rights from a competitor in Germany. In the first half of the year, the foundation was already built. Once completed, the plant will produce seamless hollow sections for use in the mechanical engineering industry, among others.
The Metal Forming Division reports an investment volume of EUR 68.1 million for the first half of the business year 2023/24. This is higher than the prior-year figure of EUR 52.3 million.
The Automotive Components business segment completed its capacity expansions for the time being with the expansion of the Shenyang (China) site in the previous year. In the current business year, the focus is on replacement and maintenance investments at numerous locations.
The Warehouse & Rack Solutions business segment is recording continuous growth and, against this background, built its own manufacturing capacities at an existing Metal Forming Division site in Shelbyville, USA. The profiling lines for the production of storage systems were ramped up in the Northern fall of 2023.