BEIJING, Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- General
Steel Holdings, Inc. ("General Steel" or the "Company") (NYSE:
GSI), one of China's leading
non-state-owned producers of steel products and aggregators of
domestic steel, today announced its plan to initiate construction
on a state-of-the-art, 900,000 metric ton seismic-grade rebar
production line at its principal manufacturing facility, Longmen
Joint Venture ("Longmen JV"), located in Hancheng City,
Shaanxi Province, China. The production line incorporates
cutting-edge technology that is expected to reduce rebar production
costs by approximately RMB100 per
metric ton.
"Through the implementation of new production lines that utilize
cutting-edge technology, we are reducing energy consumption and
production costs, while improving the quality of rebar we produce.
This is consistent with our broader efficiency improvement programs
and efforts to optimize our capacity utilization capabilities at
Longmen JV," said General Steel's Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Henry Yu. "The launch of
this new production line better positions our Company at the
high-end of the steel value chain where we can be a standard-bearer
for high-quality construction steel products. At the same time,
this is an investment in our growth that enables us to meet
increasing customer demand, generate sustainable profitability and
improve shareholder value."
In 2011, General Steel completed the installation and testing of
a one million ton high-speed wire production line and a 1.2 million
ton rebar production line, both of which were transferred to the
Longmen facility from the Company's Maoming facility to leverage
economies of scale. As part of the Company's growth strategy,
Longmen JV plans to continue increasing its annual rebar rolling
capacity through the installation of additional rebar production
lines at its facility. By rolling rebar at the same facility in
which steel billet is produced, the Company can eliminate the
process of cooling, transporting and re-heating of the steel billet
for processing at another location, substantially reducing the
costs.
The new production line utilizes Thermo Mechanical Control
Process ("TMCP") technology, which enables ultra fine-grain and
uniform rebar production that results in steel products with
greater strength and durability. Steel that is manufactured
using TMCP production is typically less susceptible to cold
cracking, is better able to withstand extra high-heat input
welding, and meets industry standards for seismic-grade rebar.
"The market for seismic rebar has exploded in recent years
following the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in the eastern Sichuan province of China. This disaster revealed that enforcement
of seismic building codes in rural areas of China was lax. Seismic activities in
China are typically high
frequency, high magnitude, wide distribution and shallow
hypocenter, which make China one
of the world's most earthquake-hit countries, and the seismic
activities in China are chiefly
concentrated in the west region, the primary end market for Longmen
JV's rebar and other steel products," Mr. Yu added, "Extensive
construction activities in the west region following the recent
earthquake in China have increased
the use of seismic-grade rebar, which we expect to drive
significant demand for our seismic-grade rebar in next few
years."
In accordance with China's 12th
Five-Year Plan for National, Social and Economic Development, the
Chinese government issued a national regulation that requires
seismic-grade rebar for new housing and infrastructure
construction. To promote this upgrade, by the end of 2015, rebar
products with greater strength and durability will be awarded
80% of total rebar production volume in China.
About General Steel Holdings, Inc.
General Steel Holdings, Inc., (NYSE: GSI), headquartered in
Beijing, China, operates a diverse
portfolio of Chinese steel companies. With 7 million metric tons of
crude steel production capacity under management, its companies
serve various industries and produce a variety of steel products
including rebar, high-speed wire and spiral-weld pipe. General
Steel Holdings, Inc. has steel operations in Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region and Tianjin municipality.
For more information, please visit www.gshi-steel.com.
To be added to the General Steel email list to receive Company
news, please send your request to generalsteel@tpg-ir.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's
current expectations or beliefs about future events and financial,
political and social trends and assumptions it has made based on
information currently available to it. The Company cannot assure
that any expectations, forecasts or assumptions made by management
in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate,
or that any projections will be realized. Actual results could
differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements as a result of inaccurate assumptions or a number of
risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are set
forth in the Company's filings under the Securities Act of 1933 and
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 under "Risk Factors" and
elsewhere, and include: (a) those risks and uncertainties related
to general economic conditions in China, including regulatory factors that may
affect such economic conditions; (b) whether the Company is able to
manage its planned growth efficiently and operate profitable
operations, including whether its management will be able to
identify, hire, train, retain, motivate and manage required
personnel or that management will be able to successfully manage
and exploit existing and potential market opportunities; (c)
whether the Company is able to generate sufficient revenues or
obtain financing to sustain and grow its operations; (d) whether
the Company is able to successfully fulfill our primary
requirements for cash; and (e) other risks, including those
disclosed in the Company's Form 10-K, filed with the SEC.
Forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of
the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any
obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking
statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or
otherwise.
Contact Us
In China:
Jenny Wang
General Steel Holdings, Inc.
Tel: +86-10-5775-7691
Email: jenny.wang@gshi-steel.com
In the US:
The Piacente Group, Inc.
Investor Relations
Brandi Floberg or Lee Roth
Tel: (212) 481-2050
Email: generalsteel@tpg-ir.com
SOURCE General Steel Holdings, Inc.