Liberty Steel Group, part of GFG Alliance, announced that it made a non-binding indicative offer (NBIO) as part of a thyssenkrupp-led process to acquire the steel activities of thyssenkrupp. Liberty Steel, a global steel and mining business, has 30,000 employees in more than 200 locations on four continents. A possible combination of Liberty Steel and thyssenkrupp Steel would create a group well positioned to tackle the challenges faced by the European steel industry.

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) released its 2019 Annual Statistical Report, which provides comprehensive data on the U.S. steel industry and select data on the North American steel industry as a whole. The report highlights that shipments from domestic steel mills measured 96.1 million net tons in 2019, up 0.9% from the previous year. U.S. raw steel production was 96.7 million net tons in 2019, a 1.3% increase from 2018.

Germany’s SMS group is investing in the acquisition of shares in two Brazil-based companies, Viridis and Vetta, expanding its market presence in Latin America. Part of the transaction is the merger of these two Brazilian companies to create a competency center for industrial digitalization, with emphasis on efficiency and sustainability technologies. The new business will operate under the name Vetta in conjunction with SMS digital, an SMS group subsidiary specialized in digital solutions.

When I realized that my metallurgical career began four decades ago in May, I decided to take a look at one 40-year career in this field. A motivation to do so is some recent condescension of Baby Boomers by younger generations because we have not had it as tough as they. That may be true, but I’ll let you decide.

Tokai Carbon GE LLC, a manufacturer of graphite electrodes for the U.S. steel industry, plans to create up to 15 full-time jobs with a $25 million investment in its facility in Hickman, Ky. The investment would cover the cost to install new equipment, which will allow the company to increase production to better serve customers throughout the U.S. Tokai Carbon GE LLC is a subsidiary of Tokai Carbon Co., which is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Tokai Carbon purchased the U.S.-based graphite electrode business of SGL Carbon in November 2017 and operates production facilities in Hickman and Ozark, Ark. The Tokai Carbon Hickman site currently employs 50 people.

HarbisonWalker International (HWI), a supplier of refractory products and services, completed the first phase of a $9 million expansion at its manufacturing operations in White Cloud, Mich. The project will significantly increase warehousing space and add advanced-manufacturing and hydraulic press technologies. HWI’s 110,000-square-foot White Cloud facility currently employs approximately 140 people and produces brick and monolithic refractories utilized by the steel industry.

Despite its history and ubiquitous presence as an infrastructure material, steels remain a complex material system with many persisting research questions.

Improvements in steel manufacturing processes have yielded advancements in the purity of steel that, in turn, yield higher-quality end-use products.

Tata Steel and thyssenkrupp AG signed a definitive agreement to create a new company by combining their European steel businesses in a 50/50 joint venture. This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in September 2017. The proposed new company, to be named thyssenkrupp Tata Steel B.V., will be positioned as a leading pan-European high-quality flat-steel producer. The joint venture will be managed as one integrated business through a holding company headquartered in the Amsterdam region of the Netherlands.