Henri Reding (ArcelorMittal): Steel for people and planet
According to Henri Reding, country head Arcelormittal Luxembourg and health & safety head at Arcelormittal Europe long products, understanding and meeting customer expectations remains essential to ensuring the supply of quality products. He explains how Arcelormittal's business contributes to the constant renewal of this essential sector, and why steel has a great future.​
Briefly describe ArcelorMittal's business today
ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 15 countries. In 2023, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $68.3 billion and crude steel production of 58.1 million metric tonnes. Our purpose is to produce ever smarter steels that have a positive benefit for people and planet using innovative processes which use less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs.
Our global headquarters are in Luxembourg, with the future one currently in construction in the Kirchberg district. In Differdange and Belval, we produce long products (beams, steel sheet piles) that offer innovative solutions to the modern construction industry. The Rodange rolling mill (Train A) produces special sections, in particular rails of various types for overhead cranes and tramways. And in Bissen, we manufacture various types of wire for fencing, the agricultural sector, industry, and reinforced concrete for the construction industry. Finally, in Luxembourg, ArcelorMittal also has a R&D centre specialising for heavy long products, located in Esch-sur-Alzette.
"STEEL IS THE FABRIC OF LIFE."
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How is a group like yours adapting to the current market?
The most important thing is to be proactive in anticipating customer expectations. In this respect, product quality and reliability come first and foremost. That is why we strongly invest in innovation, the best way to stand out from our competitors. We are constantly proposing and supplying steel solutions that meet our customers' needs - lighter steels for the automotive and construction industries, for example. Our strength: flexibility. That's why innovative solutions need to be deployed not only in our product portfolio but also in our processes. We are committed to offer irreproachable customer service.
Another aspect is our ability to control costs to remain competitive. The quality of products and services represents a cost that needs to be guaranteed through volume sales, and this can only be done at a competitive price that is acceptable to customers. So we have to constantly seek the right balance between costs and sales prices. This can sometimes be a complicated exercise because we are dependent on changes in the price of raw materials, and we have to pay certain costs to comply with environmental laws that do not necessarily apply to our competitors.
What developments do you foresee in the steel sector?
Steel is a material that has an inherently geopolitical dimension. It is used to manufacture infrastructure such as buildings, energy production equipment, mobility, defense, etc. All these elements are linked to the sovereignty of countries.
Moreover, steel represents a real solution for the ecological transition. It is 100% and infinitely recyclable, without loss of properties. Steel is the basic material for building renewable energy production infrastructures (wind turbines for example) and we are also designing increasingly lighter steel, which makes it possible to reduce the weight of electric vehicles. So, steel is therefore a material of the future which is, moreover, completely circular. Today, we can say that it will remain a material of choice for decades to come.
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