March 2007 — Borçelik Çelik Sanayii Ticaret AS, Turkey, recently awarded Siemens Metals Technologies a contract to increase the rolling and processing capacity of its cold-rolling mill complex located at Gemlik.

Siemens VAI will supply a new reversing mill and galvanizing line, and will also upgrade an existing pickle line. The new and upgraded facilities will increase Borçelik Çelik‘s output of processed products from 900,000 to 1,500,000 tonnes/year. The contract value for Siemens is around EUR 42 millions.

The new single-stand reversing mill will be capable of rolling 450,000 tonne/year at a rolling speed of up to 1200 meters/minute. The galvanizing line will have a processing capacity of 350,000 tonne/year at a processing speed of 170 meters/minute. The pickle line to be modernized was originally supplied by Clecim, now part of Siemens Metals Technologies, in 1994.

Siemens VAI’s scope of supplies and services encompasses design, detailed engineering and supply all mechanical, electrical and automation equipment. Siemens VAI will also provide operational spare parts as well as erection and commissioning supervision.

Start-up of the new and modernized facilities is scheduled for September and October 2008.

Borçelik Çelik Sanayii Ticaret is a large flat-steel producer in Turkey, is located in Gemlik, an industrial complex situated on Marmara Sea approximately 70 km south of Istanbul. On the basis of externally purchased hot-rolled coils the company sells pickled and oiled hot-rolled steel, cold-rolled steel, full-hard steel and hot-dip galvanized steel to the domestic and international markets.

Metals Technologies (MT), a division of the Siemens Group Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S) Group, is one of the world's leading engineering and plant-building companies for the iron and steel industry as well as for the flat-rolling sector of the aluminum industry and for open-cast mining. MT, which was created from the integration of Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau, Linz/Austria, and the electrical engineering product business and automation solutions of Siemens, provides a comprehensive range of supplies and services for all related technological processes and integrated automation solutions for the entire life-cycle of metallurgical plants.

The Siemens Group Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S) is the integrator of systems and solutions for industrial and infrastructure facilities and global service provider for the plant and projects business covering planning, installation, operation and the entire life cycle. I&S uses its own products and systems and process technologies in order to enhance productivity and improve competitiveness of companies in the sectors of metallurgy, water treatment, pulp and paper, oil and gas, marine engineering, open-cast mining, airport logistics, postal automation, intelligent traffic systems and industrial services. In fiscal 2006 (to September 30) I&S employed a total of 36,200 people worldwide and achieved total sales of EUR 8.819 billion.