By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOTWhat does ThyssenKrupp, the Netherlands, and Brazil have in common? The Port of Rotterdam.ThyssenKrupp executives have plans to expand operations around the world and have announced that they will favor shipping the company’s steel slabs via the Port of Rotterdam when doing so. ThyssenKrupp, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, is one of the world’s biggest technology groups. Among its activities is the manufacturing of high-tech steels, tailored products and modern coating technologies. To expand these functions, the company recently announced plans to build a new steel mill in Brazil. “We began over two years ago to look for the perfect location for a new crude steel mill to secure this capacity, a location which would meet the highest demands in terms of global competitiveness,” reveals Dr. Karl-Ulrich Kohler, chairman of the executive board of ThyssenKrupp Steel. That choice became Sepetiba Bay in the state of Rio de Janeiro where ThyseenKrupp can take advantage of regional cost advantages and have close proximity to iron ore reserves. “The main reasons for our decision were logistical advantages,” he says. “A further major benefit was the well developed infrastructure in the region of Sao Paulo/Rio.” The $3 billion investment for the new mill is the central element in the company’s comprehensive market strategies for Europe and the NAFTA region. Around 40% of the slabs produced in Sepetiba Bay will be used to strengthen ThyssenKrupp’s presence in its home market of Europe where it plans to increase its market share by more than 13%. Around three quarters of the additional quantities will be targeted at the higher end of the market. The company also intends to ship its Brazilian made slabs to NAFTA nations where it has a goal of obtaining a five percent market share of North America’s steel market. “Our company needs more crude steel capacity to meet demand for high-quality carbon flat steel on the European market, which has grown as a result of the expansion of the European Union and the NAFTA market,” says Dr. Kohler. The market has jumped in size due to the Eastern enlargement of the European Union. Working under an ambitious timetable, the company plans to have the Sepetiba Bay plant completed and in full swing by March 24, 2009. “This is when the first slab is to be produced in Sepetiba,” he says. When fully operational, the new steel mill is projected to ship 2.1million tons of steel slabs to Europe each year. These slabs will be transshipped at the Port of Rotterdam where the port plans to create a new terminal where handling will be controlled by magnets; a first, the company claims. Logistics company Steinweg will build the highly modern terminal with storage capacities and cranes. The combination of slab and container handling at the new terminal will provide maximum flexibility and productivity. From there the slabs will be transported by barge and rail from the Port of Rotterdam to ThyssenKrupp Steel’s production sites in Duisburg and Bochum where the slabs will be processed into flat steel products. The route should eventually expedite shipments. The German companies DB Intermodal and Duisport are planning a hub scheme for the inland port of Duisburg on the River Rhine. The plan foresees that all inbound containers will have a direct link to the continental network of the rail service provider Deutsche Bahn. The aim is to combine short rail haulage legs with longer ones by cross-loading onto other trains. A scheme to expand the annual capacity at DB’s terminal from 170,000 to 250,000 load units is already underway. The number of tracks are already being raised from five to eights this fall, and the loading track for handling entire trains with a mobile crane will be lengthened at the end of 2008. The gateway terminal itself will enable direct cross-loading from train to train. GERMAN INVESTMENTSThyssenKrupp Steel also plans to invest around $0.4 billion for increasing capacity at