voestalpine Groundbreaking Ceremony in the USA

November 15, 2012

On November 14, the voestalpine Group held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Metal Forming Division’s new US plant in Cartersville, Georgia. The most recent US investment in the future production of automotive components is worth around EUR 50 million and the plant will already be operational by June 2013. Once fully up and running, the plant will provide jobs for around 220 employees. Over the coming years voestalpine will invest significantly more than EUR 100 million in new plants in China, the USA, South Africa, Romania and Germany as part of its comprehensive globalization strategy in the automotive sector.

The new US site is the first step in the deliberate global expansion in the premium automotive sector. voestalpine Stamptec Inc. will start with press activities and assembly; investments in hot forming and laser-welded blanks will follow. “The USA is an key automotive market, making it an important cornerstone of our globalization strategy. The new plant in Cartersville will form the basis for our automotive activitites in North America. This investment is only a first step and further expansion is already being planned”, explains Kurt Hinterhölzl, Management Board member of the voestalpine Metal Forming Division, in his opening speech. “This expansion is also our first step in meeting increasing customer demand for our presence in their local markets. Our aim is to provide our usual high standards of quality to all our main customers in the premium sector, and in their own relevant regions”, adds Peter Bernscher, Head of the Automotive Body Parts business unit in the Metal Forming Division. Commissioner Clarence Brown, Cartersville Mayor Matt Santini and Joint Development Authority Chairman James Jarrett, all present at the groundbreaking ceremony, were unanimous in their outlook: “We are very pleased about the investment being made by voestalpine, an outstanding and well-respected Austrian company. We’re sure that the representatives of Cartersville and Bartow County will be delighted with their new neighbors and that Georgia offers voestalpine the ideal location and framework conditions”.

Massive expansion of the global presence in the automotive sector

The steel processing and technology group voestalpine is constantly expanding its global presence. voestalpine sites on four continents are currently being expanded or newly established close to the production facilities of renowned automotive manufacturers to create new plants for the Automotive Body Parts segment. Thus the Metal Forming Division’s automotive sector will serve to enhance the global presence we already enjoy in other segments. “We are following the automotive manufacturers, especially the European marques, into growth markets, and significantly strengthening our presence in these regions”, explains Chairman of the Management Board Wolfgang Eder.

"By means of new materials and forming processes, we have succeeded in producing components which are globally unique. We are only at the beginning of these developments in further processing and so we will be pushing our globalization strategy forward over the coming years.“   voestalpine-CEO Wolfgang Eder

During the business year 2011/12, the voestalpine Group generated 44% of its EUR 12.1 billion revenue in the Mobility sector. Two-thirds of this was generated in the automotive industry.

voestalpine Metal Forming Division

In 2011/12 the voestalpine Group’s globally-active Metal Forming Division achieved revenue of EUR 2.5 billion and an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 276 million. The Division provides jobs for over 11,000 employees and counts almost all of Europe’s automotive manufacturers amongst its customers. The leading global provider of premium quality metal processing solutions, especially in the special sections and custom roll forming segments, for precision strip and special components for the automotive industry, the Division is divided into five business segments: “Tubes & Sections” is a top global manufacturer of premium tubes, profiles and precision steel products. “Automotive Body Parts” supplies innovative, premium-quality body parts directly to the automotive industry. Cold-rolled stainless steel strip, with highly stable and excellent surface properties, is produced by “Precision Strip” segment. “Materials Handling” produces demanding product solutions in the high-bay racking and system shelving segment, and finally “Flamco”, with its focus on the Benelux market, produces high-quality components for heating and water installations.

The voestalpine Group

voestalpine is a globally active steel, processing, and technology Group which produces, processes, and further develops high-quality steel products. The group is represented by approximately 400 production and sales companies in more than 60 countries on five continents and has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995. With its top-quality flat steel products, the Group is one of the leading partners of the automobile, white goods, and energy industries in Europe as well as of the oil and gas industries worldwide. Furthermore, the voestalpine Group is the world market leader in turnout technology, tool steel, and special sections. In the business year 2011/12, the Group generated revenue of more than EUR 12 billion and profit from operations (EBITDA) of EUR 1.3 billion; it currently has around 46,500 employees worldwide.

Article from www.voestalpine.com by Peter Felsbach