A new walking beam furnace at ArcelorMittal Gent’s hot strip mill was unveiled on thursday at an inauguration ceremony attended by senior government officials. Belgium’s deputy prime minister Kris Peeters and Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois attended the official opening ceremony for the €49m furnace which is set to help the plant produce next-generation steel products. Kris Peeters and Geert Bourgeois spoke at the event, with additional presentations from Matthieu Jehl, CEO of ArcelorMittal Gent-Liège, and Reiner Blaschek, CMO of business division north, ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products.

The ceremony was followed by a customer tour of the hot strip mill and quality-control departments to provide further insight into investment initiatives at the plant.

ArcelorMittal is investing an additional €140m to future-proof the plant and enable it to become a pilot site for Fortiform, a range of advanced high-strength steel products for cold-forming. Car parts made with these steels are 10-20% lighter than parts made with alternative materials, enabling more economical, environmentally-friendly vehicles. Thanks to its weight and strength, Fortiform is helping ArcelorMittal automotive customers to meet CO₂ emissions and safety targets.

ArcelorMittal, Luxembourg