Valin ArcelorMittal Automotive Steel (VAMA) has forayed into the automotive manufacturing with the opening of a new advanced automotive steel plant in China with a total investment of CNY5.2bn ($832m)
Located in the economic zone in Loudi of Hunan Province, the new facility is built on a greenfield site and will produce high-strength automotive steels for the Chinese market.
VAMA, a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Hunan Valin Iron & Steel, will produce steels for safe and cost-efficient lightweight design, better surface quality and coating technology in order to meet increasing demand for advanced automotive steels in China.
Hunan Valin Steel chairman and CEO Cao Huiquan said VAMA project is an important milestone for the company to transform from a regional niche producer to a full service provider.
"The success of VAMA relies on the highest efficiency from Valin LYS, to VAMA, to downstream steel service centres, to automotive end-users," Huiquan added.
The new facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tons including 800,000 tons of cold rolled coils, 200,000 tons of aluminium-coated coils and 500,000 tons of hot-dip galvanised coils.
Approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce, VAMA will make automotive steel products such as visible structural parts, chassis and wheels.
VAMA plans to supply international carmakers and Tier 1 suppliers such as Volkswagen, GM, Ford, PSA, Daimler-Benz, BMW, Toyota, Honda, Renault, Fiat and Nissan, as well as domestic manufacturers including Geely, Chery, Dongfeng, Guangzhou Auto, Shanghai Auto and Changan.
