ArcelorMittal Belgium is part of the ArcelorMittal group, one of the world’s leading steel and mining companies. Our Belgian cluster with sites in Ghent, Liège, Geel and Genk has all necessary facilities on site to convert the raw materials supplied in a sustainable and innovative way into steel products with high added value.
Cars, wind turbines, design houses… everywhere you look, you come across steel from ArcelorMittal Belgium. In 2022 and 2023, we shipped 4.7 and 5.1 million tons of flat steel, continuously improving our existing products and developing new steel products.
Dear visitor,
Welcome to the digital Corporate Responsibility Report of ArcelorMittal Belgium.
2022 and 2023 were difficult years for the European economy, the steel sector and ArcelorMittal Belgium. Raw material prices remained high; energy costs did not return to former normal levels. The increased wage costs resulting from the index adjustments of the past two years also weighed heavily on our cost position. Moreover, demand for steel in Europe dropped noticeably. On top of this, we were hit by the full impact of CO2 taxes, which made imported slabs significantly cheaper than those we produce ourselves. This resulted in a further drop in export opportunities and massive cheap imports. There were also exceptional internal situations (e.g., major repair of our blast furnaces, start-up of Torero and Steelanol).
Within ArcelorMittal Belgium, we have a clear vision for a sustainable steel plant of the future, focusing on 3 strategic axes: People (HR & Digitalization), Planet (Energy & Environment) and Profit (Innovation & Customer Focus). The consistent commitment to these 3 axes has enabled us to further strengthen our position in these difficult years, and this within and outside our Group.
We continued to work on our ambitious plans for the future, among others in the field of sustainability. We are fully engaged in implementing an action plan to reduce CO2 emissions by 35% per year by 2030 compared to 2018 and to become climate neutral by 2050. There are three axes on which we are working to achieve this objective:
- Further improvement in material and energy efficiency through elimination of energy losses, maximum utilization of waste heat, further expansion of renewable energy capacity, increase in scrap consumption, …
- Reducing the need for fossil carbon: ArcelorMittal Belgium’s ambition is to replace one of its blast furnaces with a new technology to produce steel. This avoids the use of fossil carbon (in the form of coal) and replaces it with a gas mixture (natural gas-hydrogen) and electricity. This technology allows for a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions over time.
- Development of Smart Carbon concepts at the heart of the circular economy: ArcelorMittal Belgium replaces fossil carbon with green and circular carbon, the use of waste wood from container parks through the Torero project is an example. ArcelorMittal Belgium is also active in “Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU)”, for example, the Steelanol plant will convert steel gases into 80 million liters of sustainable ethanol per year. Within the framework of “Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)”, ArcelorMittal Belgium is working with Fluxys and North Sea Port on a study for the construction of a CO2 hub from which the captured CO2 can be transported to permanent storage sites.
Like everything else in society, steel must continue to evolve and become more and more sustainable. Our goal is to build a better world with innovative steel products. We use technologically advanced processes that consume less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs. We produce steels that are purer, stronger and recyclable. Steel for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that will support society’s energy transformation.
Our absolute ambition is to be the best employer. We want to continue to attract the best talent. It is thanks to our collaborators that we have been able to make a difference. We cherish our talented people, good leaders and strong teams and will continue to invest in them.
Our future will not only be determined by our own profitability, but also by the value we create for all our stakeholders. We can no longer blindly rely on reputation as an institution as was often the case in the past. This is true for several institutions in our society, but also for our company. That is why we decided to adapt our organization, to correctly identify our stakeholders and to include them in our new strategy. An important stakeholder group in which we have invested heavily over the past 2 years are our neighbors. It is crucial that we continue to enjoy the necessary trust from them to be able and allowed to develop our industrial activities.
But also for our other stakeholders, we must continue to defend our “license to operate” with the production of steel that is CO2-optimized, produced in a safe environment and by motivated, diverse teams… reflecting society.
All our efforts to produce smarter steels for people and planet can be found in this Corporate Responsibility Report.
I wish you an enjoyable read!
Manfred Van Vlierberghe
CEO ArcelorMittal Belgium
Key Performance Indicators
| KPI | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAFETY | |||||
| Safety frequency rate of own employees and contractors ArcelorMittal Belgium | 1 | 1.6 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.7 |
| ENVIRONMENTAL | |||||
| Energy consumption ArcelorMittal Belgium (in GJ per ton of hot rolled coils) | 17.17 | 17.31 | 17.8 | 18.6 | 17.12 |
| Green energy installed at ArcelorMittal Belgium (in MW) | 43.65 | 44.09 | 80.86 | 83.06 | 83.06 |
| Percentage of scrap ArcelorMittal Belgium (per ton of crude steel) | 24.2% | 23.2% | 21.7% | 22.7% | 22.7% |
| Net water use ArcelorMittal Belgium (m³ per ton of crude steel) | 1.33 | 1.46 | 1.21 | 1.21 | 1.2 |
| Recycling rate (#) of water volume taken up within ArcelorMittal Belgium | 30 | 24 | 29 | 26 | 23 |
| Dust emissions ArcelorMittal Belgium (kg per ton of crude steel) | 0.12 | 0.15 | 0.13 | 0.11 | 0.07 |
| NOx emissions ArcelorMittal Belgium (kg per ton of crude steel) | 0.98 | 1.09 | 1.29 | 1.17 | 1.25 |
| SO2 emissions ArcelorMittal Belgium (kg per ton of crude steel) | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.95 | 0.82 | 1.14 |
| SOCIAL | |||||
| Number of employees (headcount) ArcelorMittal Belgium | 5,772 | 5,651 | 5,701 | 5,997 | 6,065 |
| Number of new recruits ArcelorMittal Belgium | 112 | 478 | 428 | 417 | |
| Percentage of female employees ArcelorMittal Belgium | 6.5% | 6.6% | 6.9% | 8.8% | 9% |
| Percentage of employees with a non-Belgian nationality ArcelorMittal Belgium | 4.6% | 4.6%% | 5.3% | 5.7% | 5.9% |
| Average number of contractors ArcelorMittal Belgium | 1,373 | 999 | 1,277 | 1,323 | 1,404 |
| Number of training hours within ArcelorMittal Belgium as a percentage of the amount of hours worked | 5.4% | 3.23% | 4.26% | 6.02% | 5.88% |
| Absenteeism ArcelorMittal Belgium (%) | 7.7% | 6.8% | 7.3% | 8.1% | 7.5% |
| Number of company visits ArcelorMittal Belgium | 195 | 39 | 37 | 209 | 265 |
| Number of sponsored projects ArcelorMittal Belgium | 43 | 1 | 10 | 29 | 50 |
| GOVERNANCE | |||||
| Percentage of ArcelorMittal Belgium sites equipped with a safety management system (OHSAS 18001 / ISO 45001) | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Percentage of ArcelorMittal Belgium sites equipped with an environmental management system (ISO 14001) | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Percentage of ArcelorMittal Belgium sites equipped with an energy management system (ISO 50001) | 75% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Percentage of ArcelorMittal Belgium sites equipped with the ResponsibleSteel certification | 100% | 100% | 100% | ||
| Percentage of ArcelorMittal Belgium employees who have subscribed to the principles of the Code of Conduct | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
ArcelorMittal in Belgium
5,000 internal employees
Direct and indirect employment 30,000
Nothing is more important than the health & safety of all people on our premises.
- High-tech company
- Producing safe, sustainable steel
- 5,000 colleagues, highly skilled, creative and passionate about making the steel for tomorrow via our strong culture of continuous improvement & learning
Our end products
Hot rolled
Cold rolled
Metallic coated
Organic coated
Ethanol
Blast furnace slag for cement
LD slag
Bio-coal
Gas for electricity
Renewable energy with sun and wind
Our strengths
- We possess complementary installations and products.
- We offer a unique and wide range of products (uncoated, galvanized, organically coated).
- We are at the forefront of innovation.
- We are unrivalled in the development of the latest generation of ultra-high-strength steels.
- We maintain close contacts with the universities of Ghent and Liège and have two major research centres in Ghent (OCAS) and Liège (CRM).
- We serve the same customers in the automotive and industrial sectors. ArcelorMittal Belgium accounts for 15% of all automotive steels in Europe.
- We are a reference for our customers: product range, product development, quality and service.
- We are a pioneer in the field of CO2 and energy efficiency.
- We can count on motivated & committed employees who are proud to work for us.
Our Management Committee
Production figures
| Production figures | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coking plant Coke | 1.25 million tons | 1.25 million tons | |
| Sinter plants Sinter | 5.08 million tons | 4.51 million tons | |
| Blast furnaces Pig iron | 4.40 million tons | 3.75 million tons | |
| Steel shop Liquid steel | 5.04 million tons | 4.30 million tons | |
| Hot rolling mill Hot rolled coils | 4.64 million tons | 5.03 million tons | |
| Cold rolling mills Cold rolled coils | 3.27 million tons | 3.58 million tons | |
| Electrolytic galvanizing lines Electrogalvanized coils | 0.34 million tons | 0.37 million tons | |
| Hot dip galvanizing lines Hot dip galvanized coils | 1.89 million tons | 2.06 million tons | |
| Organic coating lines Organically coated coils | 0.55 million tons | 0.52 million tons |
| Recuperated gases | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coke-oven gas | 9.57 million GJ | 9.29 million GJ | |
| Blast furnace gas | 22.2 million GJ | 18.3 million GJ | |
| Converter gas | 3.70 million GJ | 2.97 million GJ |
| By-products | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benzol | 8,838 tons | 8,789 tons | |
| Tar | 46,683 tons | 44,726 tons | |
| Sulfur | 1,828 tons | 1,583 tons | |
| Blast furnace slag | 1.32 million tons | 1.14 million tons | |
| Steel slag | 0.37 million tons | 0.42 million tons |
| Raw materials | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coal | 1.73 million tons | 1.71 million tons | |
| Iron ore | 4.13 million tons | 3.68 million tons | |
| Anthracite | 0.17 million tons | 0.03 million tons | |
| Limestone | 0.58 million tons | 0.50 million tons | |
| Dolomite | 0.32 million tons | 0.32 million tons | |
| Olivine | 0.04 million tons | 0.03 million tons | |
| Pulverized coal | 0.89 million tons | 0.70 million tons | |
| Pellets | 2.34 million tons | 2.03 million tons | |
| External scrap | 0.52 million tons | 0.52 million tons | |
| Lime | 0.24 million tons | 0.21 million tons |