Acesita takes aim at rail car market

Brazilian stainless steelmaker Acesita wants to conquer part of the railroad wagon market, local business daily Valor Economico reported. An estimated 14,000 wagons are due to be made in Brazil between 2004 and 2006, and Acesita wants to supply 5% of these, the report said. "There is a big potential for stainless steel in the railroad industry," the company's commercial manager Roberto Nardocci was quoted as saying. The executive said one particular stainless steel product, known as P410D and used in the making of wagons, is common in other countries like South Africa, Australia, Belgium, Canada and the United States. Stainless steel, said Nardocci, is better than carbon coated products used in Brazilian-made wagons because of better resistence to rust and corrosion, extending the useful life of the rail car. Acesita is in the process of hiring a consultancy to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of P410D stainless steel aimed at showing that despite being more expensive it is more economical in the long term. Cornering just 5% of the wagon market would result in sales volumes of 1,400t/y of P410D, the report said. Belo Horizonte-based Acesita, controlled by European steel group Arcelor and local pension funds, has installed capacity of 850,000t/y of crude steel and is Latin America's sole integrated stainless steelmaker.