The new state of the art demineralized water station worth EUR4.75 million started its production at ArcelorMittal Galati, with excellent initial results, spokesperson Dorian Dumitrescu said in a statement Monday.
According to the statement, the station uses the technology of “reverse osmosis” and consists of five operational units that ensure a volume of 550 m³/hour of de-mineralized water, sufficient for the current consumption.
“The new facility enables us to become more self sufficient in respect to the necessary raw materials for our operations. It will also translate into lower production costs, with a positive impact on our operations and production processes, and, ultimately on the efficiency of our plant. In a highly competitive international market, with companies that have lower costs with raw materials, the cost reduction policy ensures the competitiveness of our business and the future of our operations,” said Bruno Ribo, chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal Galati.
The de-mineralized water is an important technical fluid used for producing the steam for the turbo-blowers and for various processes at the converters and continuous casting (steel melting shop) and for the pickling line.
The investment is part of ArcelorMittal Europe’s “Energize” Project, which is focused on reducing energy consumption and covers a wide range of areas, from energy-efficient equipment and processes to office activities, involving all parts of the business, from operations, to maintenance, investment and purchasing.
ArcelorMittal group announced earlier this year it will invest EUR40 million at its Romanian steel plant in Galati in 2015. ArcelorMittal expects the plant’s steel output to exceed 2 million tons this year, 300,000 more tons than in 2014.
ArcelorMittal Galati has around 6,500 employees.