Unicredit and the German bank Dz Bank have granted Duferco – supported by the German Export Credit Agency (Eca) Euler Hermes through the 'buyer's credit' instrument – a loan of 72 million. The resources will be used by the Italian steel company to build "a new production plant, based on advanced environmental standards, which will allow the company to implement cutting-edge production processes at the Brescia site, in the name of sustainability", explains Piazza Gae Aulenti in a note.
In detail, the loan, which has a duration of 11 years, was disbursed to Duferco Travi e Profilati to support the purchase and installation of "an innovative production line", created by the German company Sms Group, which will allow to increase the production capacity of the San Zeno Naviglio site (Brescia) thanks to the creation 'with a vertically integrated cycle of so-called long products, a sector in which Duferco boasts a market share of around 40% in Italy”. Furthermore, the new plant, which will be able to add 650 thousand tons of production capacity, will have "positive direct and indirect employment effects on the territory".
“This project looks to the future – he observed Augusto Gozzi, managing director of Duferco Travi e Profilati – because it represents an important investment that confirms the projection of our group towards an innovative and sustainable development model. Integrated with the San Zeno Naviglio steel plant, the new SBM rolling mill (SanZeno Beam Mill) will be powered entirely by renewable sources and will provide Duferco Travi e Profilati with an extremely efficient system in the heart of the Italian consumer market”.
With this operation, he emphasizes Alfredo De Falco, head of CIB Italy of Unicredit – “we are supporting an investment that will create new jobs, pay maximum attention to the sustainability of production processes and increase the competitiveness on European markets of an Italian company that has made the history of the iron and steel sector and is growing thanks to innovation”.
