Brazil's CSA sees steel output up 67 pct by 2012

Sept 20, 2011

* CSA to ramp up output despite economic crisis
* Company suspends capacity expansion plans

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - ThyssenKrupp's $6.5 billion Rio de Janeiro slab mill will raise output by 67 percent to 5 million tonnes per year by 2012, a company official said on Monday.

CSA ThyssenKrupp, a joint venture with Brazilian mining giant Vale , is ramping up production despite a slowdown in the United States and Europe and turmoil in global capital markets, Financial Vice President Rodrigo Tostes said in an interview.

"We are in a ramp-up phase and next year we will reach peak production," Tostes said in an interview. "Our advantage is that we have captive clients with long-term contracts. We are going to follow through with our plans" despite the current economic crisis, he said.

He added that the company no longer has plans to expand its production capacity, as had been suggested earlier.

Tostes said CSA recently reached output of 3 million tonnes of steel products, and expects average output to remain at that level until the end of the year.

Some 40 percent of its products are sold to Europe, while the remainder goes to the United States.

Brazilian steelmakers dependent on local market demand have been struggling with greater competition from cheap Chinese imports.

(sourced Reuters)