By Paul Ploumis

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Leading steelmaker-ArcelorMittal will introduce new generation of advanced high strength steels (AHSS), as part of expanding its global portfolio of automotive steel. The launch of new products is in line with the company’s five year action plan Action 2020. The new products are expected to help automakers to further reduce weight of automobiles, thereby boosting sustainability efforts.

ArcelorMittal will launch new press hardenable steels (PHS) Ductibor® 1000 and Usibor® 2000 and martensitic steels MartINsite® M1700 and M2000. In addition, the company is also planning to expand its portfolio of third generation AHSS during next year. The 3G AHSS portfolio currently includes Fortiform® 1050.

Ductibor® 1000 is a high-strength press hardenable steel that offers good energy absorption capacity. Typical applications for Ductibor® 1000 include energy absorption parts such as front and rear rails and lower B-pillars. The samples of the product are now available to customers for quality testing in North America.

According to the company, the aluminum-silicon coated Usibor® 2000 is stronger than its predecessor Usibor® 1500. The product will help automakers to fabricate parts at a very high strength. Typical applications for Usibor® 2000 include strength-critical passenger compartment parts such as rockers, pillars, roof rails and cross members. The product will be made available in North America by early 2017. The commercial production of the same is expected to commence late summer next year. It must be noted that Usibor® 2000 offers 10-15% weight savings when matched with the existing hot stamping solutions.

ArcelorMittal will expand its MartINsite® family of products which currently contains MartINsite® M900, M1100, M1300 and M1500. In addition, it will introduce two new products- MartINsite® M1700 and M2000. These steel grades will find its application in manufacture of anti-intrusion parts such as bumper and door beams. The above grades will be available for OEM qualifications by mid-2017. The commercial production is expected to start during early-2018.

ArcelorMittal in partnership with Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metals Corp. has been making significant investments to enhance the capabilities of AM/NS Calvert, Alabama facility which will make it capable of producing high-quality products for a variety of markets. The investment is expected to boost the company’s North American production capacity of press hardenable steels.

The company had launched Action 2020 plan in February 2016, which is considered as a roadmap for each of its operating segment to deliver structural improvements to meet long-term profitability and cash flow targets. It targets to deliver cash flow in excess of $2 billion by 2020 by raising the Ebitda per tonne of steel produced to $85 and increasing the total steel shipments to 90 million tonnes by 2020. It must be noted that the company’s Ebitda per tonne was $62 in 2015. The steel shipments had totaled less than 85 million tonnes during the year. Most interestingly, the forecast targets are based on current market prices of steel and iron ore. Also, Action 2020 does not propose any further capital investment.

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world’s leading steel and mining company. It has the largest global production capacity of any steel company in the world. In the United States, ArcelorMittal accounts for more than 20 percent of the nation’s steelmaking capacity, operating 27 facilities in 13 of the United States. Our non-industrial presence extends to 14 states and the District of Columbia. With approximately 20,000 employees in the United States, ArcelorMittal produced more than 15 million tons of raw steel in 2015 and shipped a broad range of steel products to the automotive, construction, pipe and tube, appliance, container, energy and machinery markets.