EMW Stahl Service GmbH and ArcelorMittal are joining forces on the road to decarbonisation. The world's leading steel manufacturer will supply the steel service centre in Neunkirchen, Germany with low CO2 emissions steel as well as certificates for CO2 savings starting in 2023. EMW aims to be climate-neutral by 2030 for scope 1 and 2. In Europe, ArcelorMittal aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 35 percent by 2030, and globally the group wants to achieve net zero by 2050.

XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steels

As part of their climate strategies, the two companies are expanding their partnership in 2023. EMW will receive XCarb^® steel with a low carbon content from ArcelorMittal Commercial Germany. The XCarb^® recycled and renewably produced steels are produced on the basis of scrap (70%) and renewable electricity (100%). The reduced carbon footprint is confirmed with an official Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). CO₂ emissions per tonne of steel product are at 797 kg now, which is just around a third compared with the same steel product produced conventionally in a blast furnace (2.57 t CO₂/t of steel). ArcelorMittal is offering EMW the XCarb^® steel in the required quantities and is also providing technical support. EMW, in turn, will pass on the steel with production-related CO₂ savings to its customers and end consumers.

"Our own ambitious goal is climate neutrality by 2030, and we have already launched numerous projects and activities in our organisation to achieve this. Equally important in this context, however, are the agreements with our long-standing partners such as ArcelorMittal on the purchase of low-CO₂ steels in order to be able to cover the entire scope”, says EMW Managing Director Michael Mockenhaupt.

XCarb® green steel certificates

In addition to physically supplied steel, EMW will continue to purchase steel with XCarb® green steel certificates from ArcelorMittal, thus verifiably documenting CO2 reductions. The CO2 reduction in these certificates amounts to 2.11 t CO2/t steel and originates from breakthrough projects at blast furnaces. The CO2 savings are mass balanced on a central account and independently verified.

"We are pleased about the agreement with EMW and generally see an increased interest from our customers for climate-friendly products. Thanks to the XCarb® green steel certificates, customers who purchase our certificates can directly incorporate the CO2 savings into their Scope 3 and thus also achieve their sustainability goals," explains Jochen Grünewald, Managing Director of ArcelorMittal Commercial Germany.

EMW is a steel service centre within the globally operating Schaefer Group and supplies coils, slit strip, blanks, and circular blanks to the steel processing industry. The Siegerland-region-based company already provides an extensive range of CO2-reduced steels.

For its customers in the processing industry, EMW purchases, among other products, Magnelis® flat steels from ArcelorMittal, which are particularly resistant to corrosion and versatile when coated on both sides.

About EMW Steel Service Centre

As one of the largest mill-independent steel service centres in Europe, EMW supplies coils, slit strip, blanks, and circular blanks to the steel processing industry. Divided between the two sites in Neunkirchen (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Treuen (Saxony), EMW constantly stocks over 220 000 tonnes of thin sheet. Almost all marketable qualities are therefore available: standard and special grades, mainly hot-dip and electrolytically galvanised, cold-rolled, hot-rolled, and hot-dip aluminised. On six slitting lines, three multi-blanking lines, two cut-to-length lines, and one cut-to-length line, EMW processes sheets in the thickness range from 0.4 to 6 mm with coil weights of up to 32 tonnes. A comprehensive package of automotive and industrial grades, high-strength steels, and enamelling grades, as well as a high-performance organisation for transport logistics, are among the company's particular specialities. EMW's quality guarantee, process reliability, and environmental protection are ensured by certifications in accordance with DIN ISO 9001:2008, IATF 16949:2016, and ISO 14001:2004. EMW is a division of the internationally successful SCHÄFER WERKE group of companies based in Neunkirchen.

More information: https://www.emw-stahlservice.de/en/

XCarb® towards carbon neutral steel

XCarb^® is a trademark registered by ArcelorMittal that represents the clear path taken by the company towards the decarbonisation of the steel production process and the ambitious goal of zero emissions by 2050.

XCarb^® will ultimately bring together all of ArcelorMittal’s reduced, low, and zero-carbon products and steelmaking activities, as well as wider initiatives and green innovation projects, into a single effort focussed on achieving demonstrable progress towards carbon neutral steel.

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia

Images:
© EMW
© ArcelorMittal

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Imagine for a moment that you are building a house, but starting with the inside. What materials would you need to ensure that the interior can withstand the elements until the outer skin of the building is complete? For stow, a leading manufacturer of racking systems used in warehouses, this is a daily challenge. To simplify construction of high-bay warehouses, the racks are the first things installed – up to a year before the external cladding and roofing is applied. This is why stow has selected Amstrong® and Magnelis® from ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products as the basis of the racking systems they manufacture. These unique steel solutions can withstand the elements and provide long-term durability.

A surge in warehouse demand

Racking systems are used by a wide range of industries to store products ready for delivery to customers and consumers around the world. “The rapid growth in e-commerce over the last few years has fuelled demand for more and bigger warehouses,” notes Karel Boone, Supply Chain and Purchasing Director at stow. “E-commerce requires three times the amount of warehouse space compared to traditional retail. One of the reasons is that this enables companies to hold more inventory so they can meet the next-day delivery expectations of their consumers.”

Pandemic accelerates cooperation

stow began working with ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products in 2009 when the company installed the first slitting line at its factory in Dottignies, Belgium. “Rather than buying slit coils from service centres, stow was able to purchase mother coils from ArcelorMittal,” says Karel Boone.

Cooperation with ArcelorMittal expanded during the recent pandemic as Karel Boone explains: “During the initial lockdown, ArcelorMittal became an important steel supplier to stow. ArcelorMittal was able to secure the volumes of Amstrong® and Magnelis® we needed from its mills in Bremen, Germany and Ghent, Belgium with minimal delay. Communication was extremely important during this time. ArcelorMittal kept the lines of communication open and active. Even if it wasn’t good news, we got news – and that allowed us to plan our production accordingly.”

Magnelis® is becoming increasingly important to stow. “We use it in applications where there is friction such as the rails automated shuttles use to move goods around the racks,” says Karel Boone. “We don’t notice any difference when processing Magnelis® compared to hot dip galvanised material. But we do notice the quality. We rarely receive customer complaints about the finishing of parts that are manufactured with Magnelis®.”

New norm, new steels

A recent development in the racking industry has been the release of a new norm for racking systems. “EN 15512:2020 is designed to enhance safety for people working in warehouses,” says Karel Boone. “If we were to use our current grades, we would need more steel to achieve the standard. Instead, we are testing Amstrong® grades such as S460MC, which offers higher strength without increasing the amount of steel required.”

Ensuring that stow meets the new European standard for racking systems and produces environmentally friendly products is a key priority for the company notes Karel Boone: “We are currently developing a roadmap which addresses environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. This is becoming increasingly important to our customers, particularly international brands including IKEA.”

As well as developing the roadmap, stow is taking immediate actions to reduce its carbon footprint. “For example, we ask our suppliers, including ArcelorMittal, to ship products by barge to a local warehouse,” notes Karel Boone. “Every barge takes 50 trucks off the road – significantly reducing our carbon footprint. We’re also keeping up to date with market evolutions and ArcelorMittal solutions such as XCarb® recycled and renewably produced products.”

Dimensional feasibility of Amstrong® family extended

ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products has recently expanded the dimensional feasibility of the Amstrong® family to ensure it offers the widest range on the market. Amstrong® now comes in standard thicknesses from 1.5 to 25 mm and widths of up to 2150 mm, while Amstrong® Ultra grades are now available in thicknesses from 4 to 20 mm and widths up to 2000 mm.

About stow

For more than 40 years, stow’s core business has been the development and manufacturing of top-quality racking systems which are used to store palletised and small goods. The company has a strong focus on producing high-quality and flexible system solutions which fully comply with the latest norms and regulations. More recently, stow has become a major player in the development and deployment of robots which automate the storage and retrieval of stored items.

More info: www.stow-group.com

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia

Images:
© stow

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