LIBERTY Steel Group has allocated Euro 5.5 million towards the consolidation and automation of the LIBERTY Galati Hot Strip Mill, which this year celebrates half a century of continuous activity.

In November, LIBERTY Galati carried out comprehensive works to consolidate the production line and implement automation projects, at a cost of around €5.5 million. The upgrading of the automation for the roughing stand and all the pusher furnaces will increase the productivity of the mill and the replacing of all the old transformers with modern ones will improve the mills’ environmental footprint. Also, the projects will better integrate technical and operational decisions, improve the quality of the coils, and will strengthen safety processes.

Prasanta Mishra, Executive Director of LBERTY Galati said: “2021 is the first year we have been really able to see the impact of the modernisation and operational efficiency. The Hot Strip Mill team’s results prove their commitment to deliver both the quality and volumes demanded by customers. We are proud to be celebrating the mill’s half a century of continuous activity with such results. Looking forward, LIBERTY Galati aims to invest in sustainability and digitization, and especially in our team’s upskilling because it is the people who have built the company over the last 50 years, and it is they who will help transform it into a company of the future.”

Since July 2019, LIBERTY Steel Group has launched an extensive transformation program for LIBERTY Galati to become a GREENSTEEL regional champion, working closely with its employees, unions, contractors, customers, and partners, as well as with the authorities. LIBERTY has recently launched its GREENSTEEL Academy to help to build the skills needed to sustain the industry for the long term and meet its strategic objectives to be carbon neutral by 2030. The Academy’s mission is to engage, inspire and develop the workforce of today and tomorrow through innovative development programmes, created by its own teams in collaboration with regional educational and technical establishments and with the support of regional authorities.