Air Liquide has just signed a long-term contract with EMZ, a subsidiary of Metinvest
Air Liquide has just signed a long-term contract with EMZ, a subsidiary of Metinvest – the Ukrainian steel industry leader – to supply industrial gases to its iron and steel plant based in Yenakiyevo (Donetsk Oblast), South East of Ukraine.
Air Liquide will invest in a new state-of-the-art Air Separation Unit (ASU) with a production capacity of 1,700 tonnes per day of oxygen, nitrogen and argon. The ASU will be designed, built and operated by Air Liquide; the commissioning is planned mid-2014. Air Liquide will also supply liquid gases to other industries in the country.
The overall Air Liquide investment is around €100 million and will be financed with the support of the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development). It is the first time that a Ukrainian steel manufacturer has outsourced its industrial gases needs.
Guy Salzgeber, Vice President North and Central Europe and a member of the Air Liquide Executive Committee, commented: “We are greatly honored that Metinvest has chosen Air Liquide as its long term partner for this first outsourcing of their industrial gases. In addition to the investment of the new Air Separation Unit for Metinvest, Air Liquide plans to build up in Ukraine high level technical and operating expertise to support its long term development in this important market for industrial gases. This success in Ukraine illustrates our increasing development in this zone of Europe. Developing economies are one of the growth drivers of the Group.”
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