BUCHAREST (Romania), September 16 (SeeNews) – Romanian steel plant Donalam Calarasi, part of Italy's Beltrame group, said on Wednesday that it is investing 11.3 million euro ($13 million) in the modernization of its rolling mill.
The investment will be made from the plant's own funds and is expected to be completed by 2022, Donalam said in a press release.
Donalam will add a new heating furnace and a water treatment system at the steel mill.
The new technology will also contribute to reducing carbon emissions associated with production by up to 40%.
"We had planned this investment within the group before the European Parliament approved The Green Deal, a project that obliges member states to major investments so that, by 2050, the EU becomes carbon neutral," Donalam Calarasi CEO Carlo Beltrame said.
"In addition to the 11.3 million euro investment already being implemented, we are analyzing a much larger investment, of over 100 million euro, that would change the paradigm of the steel industry, considered to be extremely polluting," the CEO added, without elaborating.
In July, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said that it will provide a 5 million euro loan to Donalam Calarasi. The steel producer will use the two-year loan to finance its working capital needs, fill liquidity gaps from expected lower sales in the coming months due to Covid-19 impact, and address increased net working capital needs caused by payables volatility, EBRD said at the time.
In May, Donalam Calarasi announced that it completed a 4 million euro investment in special equipment for steel bars treatment in order to manufacture steel products with increased added-value and focus on customised orders.
Donalam was established in 2006, following Beltrame's acquisition of the Siderca hot rolling mill in Calarasi. The steel mill employs 270.
It posted a turnover of 78 million euro in 2019, as its sales volume amounted to 110,000 tonnes.
Beltrame was founded in 1896 and manufactures steel products for use in construction, shipbuilding and excavation.
($=0.842 euro)