Barrett Steel is one of the UK’s largest steel stockholders. For their recent expansion project in Scunthorpe, UK, they selected XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel sections for their new 18 500m² distribution centre at Groveport.

An estimated 1408t CO₂ saving

During the summer of 2022, 650 tonnes of XCarb® recycled and renewably produced sections were supplied to Barrett Steel from ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products' mills in Luxembourg (Belval and Differdange) and Spain (Olaberria and Bergara).

XCarb® recycled and renewably produced sections are made in an electric arc furnace (EAF) charged with 100% recycled steel and powered using 100% renewable electricity coming from wind and solar sources connected to the same grid as the ArcelorMittal plants. This combination gives XCarb® recycled and renewably produced sections a very low carbon footprint of 333 kg of CO2e per tonne of finished steel (on an A1-A3 basis), which is assured by a third party-certified Environmental Product Declaration.

The 650 tonnes of sections, used for the frame, have an embodied carbon of 216t CO₂e which, compared to blast furnace produced material, offers an estimated saving of 1408t CO₂e.

The steel with the lowest CO2e footprint on the market

Guy Barrett, Group Purchasing Director says: “Being able to deliver the project using a low embodied carbon structural steel frame, the first of its kind in the UK, not only demonstrates our commitment to our own net zero goals but also showcases a tangible solution to the questions being raised by clients and contractors in the industry.”

In addition to choosing ArcelorMittal’s steel because it has the lowest CO2e footprint on the market, the centre uses energy efficient LED luminaires and has also been designed for future installation of photovoltaic panels.

The new distribution hub has been designed to hold 20 000 tonnes of structural steel, which more than doubles the current capacity at the Groveport site.

About Barrett Steel

Long-established, Barrett Steel is a 6th generation family business that offers 100kt of steel stock with an extensive range of processing capabilities and a rapid delivery service using their own transport fleet and a network of service centres spanning the UK and Ireland.  Barrett aims to be a net zero carbon business by 2035, and the construction of the Groveport facility with ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel highlights the Group’s commitment to the environment and its net zero carbon goals.

Scrap and renewable energy with XCarb™: the levers of low CO2 steel

The XCarb™ initiative, launched by ArcelorMittal in March 2021, brings together all of ArcelorMittal’s reduced-, low-, and zero-carbon products and steelmaking activities.

To produce XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel, ArcelorMittal uses up to 100% scrap and renewable electricity coming from renewable sources such as solar and wind power.

ArcelorMittal estimates that XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel has a carbon footprint as low as 0.3 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel product when the metallics are 100% scrap, which is certified by a published Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications

Images:
Barrett Steel

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Barret Steel's Groveport distribution centre

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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The newest SiCA: Steel in Construction Academy lectures – Composite beams: Shear connection I, II, and III – are available now!

These three new lectures cover topics such as:

• the types and behaviour of shear connectors
• load transfer
• the behaviour of partial shear connection in composite beams
• practical methods used for design at the ultimate and serviceability limit states
• the design of shear connection in continuous composite beams
• hogging moment regions

Text:
Constructalia

Image:
© ArcelorMittal

Related link(s)

SiCA: Steel in Construction Academy