Voestalpine is optimistic that the start-up of the new special steel plant in Kapfenberg, Austria will take place by the end of March.
Completion of the project was greatly delayed due to problems with the delivery of technical equipment, partly from - due to the Covid-19 pandemic that broke out during the construction period. The launch is getting closer. “We planned to start the plant this fiscal year [April 2022 to March 2023],” said company chief executive Herbert Eibensteiner at a press conference on Wednesday.
The plant is a relatively new project because it will replace the existing plant, which will not be further upgraded. According to Eibensteiner, both plants will operate in rotation during a transitional period until the new plant reaches full commercial capacity.
The plant is part of the High Performance Metal division, formerly known as Böhler-Uddeholm. In the first three quarters of this fiscal year, the division's revenue increased 29% year-over-year to €2.78 billion ($2.99 billion). Eibensteiner noted, among other things, that this was facilitated by a positive trend in the aerospace segment, primarily due to the growing demand for narrow-body aircraft used in regional air travel. 15%. “At the group level, we could largely reduce our increased energy costs, but not in all segments,” Eibensteiner explained. He added that the plant's international competitiveness had suffered and that, in addition to staff cuts, the measures taken included investments in energy efficiency.
