Who said that relocations were inevitable? In June 2019, the Spanish steel group Celsa announced that it was investing 60 million euros in its Boucau site in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, hiring 140 people, and laying the foundation stone for a new rolling mill on 28 January 2020. Today, technical tests are underway and Celsa has officially produced the first steel bar in its new hot rolling mill. The plant will go into full operation once the tests are completed in the next few weeks.
The plant will produce up to 550,000 tonnes/year of long steel. The new rolling mill has an annual production and revenue capacity of around 300 million euros and with this investment the steel group aims to improve its access to the French, Belgian, Dutch and even northern Spanish markets. The company also wants to improve its delivery times and customer service.
Dependent on the construction sector, the market for long products has nevertheless changed little overall since the pandemic, with Asia and China being a growth driver. For 2022, the forecasts are bullish for the building industry in France and Europe, following on from 2021, which should favour the production of long steel. The start of production of the new rolling mill at Celsa France is therefore taking place in a favourable context.