The world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal has said that it has expanded its welding plant in Slovakia to supply mostly foreign car manufacturers in the region.
The announcement highlights the importance of the auto sector to several economies in the region, as well as to several leading auto groups in Europe and Asia.
“Eastern Europe is still a growth area for us,” Robrecht Himpe, CEO of ArcelorMittal's Flat Carbon Europe unit told the news agency
“ArcelorMittal has invested 10 million euros ($13.6 million) in a third production facility at our site in Senica, western Slovakia, to better serve our automotive clients who have moved production to eastern Europe,” the company said in a press release.The plant will produce laser-welded blanks, or sheets of flat material of varying thickness and with different mechanical properties.
This technology of preparing sheets with multiple properties before delivery to car plants reduces production costs, saves weight and therefore reduces fuel consumption.