VAMA’s Phase III Automotive Steel Project Comes Online,Galvanizing Capacity Increases to 3 Million Tons.

On November 9, Valin Steel announced that its subsidiary, Valin ArcelorMittal Automotive Steel Co., Ltd. (VAMA), plans to launch a Phase III expansion project for automotive steel sheets. The project has an estimated total investment of 3.147 billion yuan (including tax) and a construction period of 28 months. It will involve the construction of a JVD vacuum coating line with an annual capacity of 850,000 tonnes, a continuous annealing line with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes, and associated auxiliary facilities within the existing VAMA plant site. The project will be funded by VAMA itself, with 50% coming from internal capital and 50% from bank loans. This proposal has been approved at the 12th meeting of the company’s 9th Board of Directors; it does not require shareholder approval, involves no related-party transactions, and does not constitute a major asset restructuring.

The project is designed to produce high-end cold-forming automotive steel, including ultra-high-strength steel (UHSS)—specifically martensitic steel—advanced high-strength steel (AHSS), and automotive exterior panels. According to the announcement, the JVD (Jet Vapor Deposition) vacuum coating technology is a proprietary process exclusive to ArcelorMittal. Compared to traditional hot-dip galvanizing and electro-galvanizing, it offers superior performance in terms of coating uniformity, corrosion resistance, and the mitigation of hydrogen embrittlement, while also improving zinc utilization efficiency. Once the third phase of the project becomes operational, VAMA’s annual galvanized steel production capacity will increase from 2 million tonnes to 3 million tonnes. VAMA’s first phase commenced production in June 2014, followed by the second phase in April 2023; the facility has an overall designed capacity of 2 million tonnes and is jointly owned by Valin Steel and ArcelorMittal, with each holding a 50% stake.

Against a backdrop where the steel industry faces margin pressure on commodity-grade steel and the substitution of imports for high-end automotive steel sheets continues to gain momentum, this project represents an expansion of VAMA’s product portfolio—extending beyond its existing hot-stamped steel offerings to include cold-formed high-strength steel and automotive exterior panels.