ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada inaugurates new $27 million finishing line at its Longueuil bar mill

Highlights

• $27 million investment with multiple spin-offs in Québec
• Supports 200 jobs
• Additional rolling capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year
• New range of value-added steel products

LONGUEUIL, QC, June 7, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - After 18 months of work, ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada today inaugurated a new finishing line at its bar mill in Longueuil, Québec. Representing a $27 million (CAD) investment, this innovative equipment will increase the facility's annual rolling capacity from 400,000 to 500,000 tonnes. It will also now be able to manufacture new value-added steel products, including angles, for local and international markets. The event was attended by several dignitaries, including the Mayor of Longueuil, Caroline St-Hilaire.

"Our new finishing line has been built to better respond to the needs of our clients and support the company's development over the next few years. The project is part of our growth strategy to maximize the profitability of our steel," said Sujit Sanyal, President and CEO, ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada. "We are reaffirming our leadership in the steel and mining industry in North America as an integrated company: from mining, to steel, to customers." Local suppliers and contractors played a major role in the project, with nearly 100% of the equipment, products and services coming from Québec, excluding the main equipment manufactured in Europe.

This investment, which maintains some 200 bar mill jobs, is part of ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada's modernization program, which has seen nearly $300 million invested since 2008. In operation since 1974, the Longueuil plant is one of the cornerstones of the company's rolling capacity expansion plan between now and 2020.

Steel billets from ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada's two Contrecoeur steelworks, cast from recycled scrap iron and iron ore extracted on Québec's North Shore, are processed in the company's rolling mills. The Longueuil facility manufactures special-grade and merchant bars, reinforcing steel (rebar) and various other semi-finished steel products for customers in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The bar mill is the world's largest supplier of steel used in leaf springs for light and heavy trucks of the world's largest automotive manufacturers. Longueuil steel is found in the new Champlain Bridge, the new Highway 30 and the Bell Centre. The bar mill is also a major supplier of cathode bars for Québec aluminum smelters.

The new equipment will be central to the safe and reliable production of new steel products, including angles, used in the construction of electric pylons and building structures. The upgraded finishing line will also have a direct impact on packaging and delivery performance.

"We are delighted that ArcelorMittal has decided to pursue its growth in Longueuil," said Caroline St-Hilaire, Mayor of Longueuil. "A key player in our local economy for more than 40 years, it is unquestionably contributing to the development of a specialized workforce here. ArcelorMittal is also a socially engaged member of the Longueuil community. I'd like to thank its entire team for helping our city, and the expertise of our people, to shine beyond our borders."

"Despite economic ups and downs, ArcelorMittal has always known how to innovate and position itself as a world-class Canadian steel producer. Thanks to the excellent work of our employees, we are able to meet the requirements of our customers who are looking for safe, sustainable steel," said Mr. Sanyal.

In 2013, the bar mill benefited from a major upgrade with the installation of a new $24 million (CAD) heating furnace. This project improved the bar mill's efficiency while reducing its energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

About ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada

ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada's mission is to safely manufacture sustainable steel in accordance with its values of health and safety, quality, leadership and sustainability. The company employs about 1,700 people in Contrecoeur, Longueuil, Montreal and Hamilton. It operates a scrap-metal recycling and conversion centre, an iron-ore reduction plant, two steel mills, three rolling mills and two wire-drawing mills. The group has an annual production capacity of over 2 million tons of steel and generates economic spinoffs of more than $1 billion per year.

ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada is part of ArcelorMittal, the world's leading integrated steel and mining company, with a presence in more than 60 countries.

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SOURCE ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada