- Agreement will enable company to step up sustainable stainless steel production and help to create and safeguard jobs in Andalusia
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is granting a EUR 70m loan to Acerinox to help the company implement its modernisation strategy by upgrading its production processes. The new equipment will employ state-of the-art technologies enabling Acerinox to increase the production of high value added stainless steel products while at the same time reducing the consumption of supplies in its production chain. The agreement was signed in Madrid by EIB Vice-President Román Escolano and Acerinox’s CEO Rafael Miranda.
The schemes financed by the EIB will be implemented at Acerinox’s plant in Palmones, Cádiz, as part of an upgrading programme that will boost the company's competitiveness and strengthen its presence outside the country by increasing its exports. In this way, the project will help to promote economic growth in an EU convergence region, which will also benefit from job creation as the new productive systems will require 250 people to be hired during the execution phase and 55 to be taken on permanently.
Specifically, the EIB loan will help to finance the installation of a new cold rolling mill and a new annealing and pickling line at the company’s Cádiz plant. These new facilities will enable Acerinox to design and manufacture high quality stainless steel products and surface finishes mainly using recycled raw materials. By increasing its cold rolling capacity the company will optimise its production processes and enhance its competitiveness.
“Supporting the modernisation of Acerinox’s Cádiz plant serves a twofold purpose for the EIB. On the one hand, it will firmly contribute to the achievement of one of our priorities in Spain: fostering job creation,” said EIB Vice-President Román Escolano. “But this project also meets another of the EU bank’s objectives: supporting investment in convergence regions. We are therefore delighted to be signing an agreement that will provide the necessary funding to enable a great Spanish company to continue growing.”
Acerinox’s CEO Rafael Miranda added that “the EIB’s support for the expansion of our Campo de Gibraltar plant will strengthen the Acerinox Group’s growth strategy, but will also bolster its financial strategy – adding the prestigious European organisation that is the EIB to its pool of financing institutions. This EUR 140m investment in our Cádiz plant will enable us to maintain our competitiveness, increase our productivity and improve our environmental footprint.”
This agreement between the EIB and Acerinox will contribute to the achievement of the Commission’s action plan for a competitive and sustainable steel industry in the EU. This recognises the industry’s major impact on employment and on the EU’s economy and recommends supporting the necessary investment to ensure that companies in the sector are equipped with state-of-the-art technology that will enhance their ability to compete.
©EIB
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