ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni and plant manufacturer SMS Demag signed the contract for the construction of a new annealing/pickling line for stainless hot-rolled strip in Terni today.

This production line will have a capacity of around 650,000 metric tons per year, allowing it to replace several existing lines. The end product of this line - hot rolled pickled stainless steel strip with a maximum width of 1,570 mm and thicknesses of 1.5 to 7.0 mm - is used as feedstock for the group's own cold rolling mills and for the supply to end users, e.g. the tube and pipe industry. The design of the line places particular emphasis on high productivity, first-class product quality and on the use of environmentally friendly pickling methods. It draws on experience gained during the construction of 4 new annealing/pickling lines for the Stainless group in the last 5 years.

The line will be built in the direct vicinity of the existing wide hot strip mill to ensure optimum logistics. Commissioning is scheduled to take place in the 3rd quarter of 2007. The investment volume totals approximately EUR 50 million.

This investment is a continuation of the restructuring and modernization of AST at Terni which was resolved at the beginning of 2005 in connection with the closure of electrical steel production. Already last year a EUR 124 million investment program was launched with measures aimed at strengthening the stainless business of ThyssenKrupp AST, especially at the Terni location. The largest single project, a state-of-the-art 20-high cold-rolling stand, was ordered for the Terni plant in mid-2005 which after commissioning in October 2006 will replace two outdated stands. Another focus of the investment program is the establishment of a finishing shop at Terni which will enable AST to meet customers' service requirements and add product value.