OREANDA-NEWS. August 02, 2013. Valin ArcelorMittal Automotive Steel Co., Ltd. (VAMA), the joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Valin Steel, officially unveiled its brand in Loudi, China.

The CEO of Valin Group, Mr. Li Jianguo, attended the event, as well as Mr. Wang Jun, chairman of VAMA, and Sanjay Sharma, CEO of VAMA, who presented VAMA’s brand strategy. The VAMA brand, symbolised by its new logo, represents the unity between the company’s diverse cultural backgrounds and promises a commitment to reliability and innovation. This reflects VAMA’s core values of putting the customer first, offering a high quality of service, being people-centric, having a high level of corporate governance, being socially responsible, and having efficient supply chain management.

The distinctive VAMA logo brings together the characteristics of both Valin, with its Phoenix icon, and ArcelorMittal, with its bold and distinctive orange corporate colour.

As the leading project in Hunan Province’s new industrialisation process and one of the major automotive steel projects in China, VAMA was formed in June 2008 and approved by China’s National Development and Reform Commission in June 2010. VAMA began its accelerated construction plan in June 2012, with operations expected to begin in mid-2014.

VAMA will produce state-of-the-art automotive steels for safe and cost-efficient lightweight design, superior surface quality and coating technology. ArcelorMittal is supporting the project with its advanced technology and providing production know-how to both Valin Lianyuan Steel and VAMA, to ensure a seamless production flow along the entire supply chain.

VAMA’s product portfolio will include technologically advanced products developed by ArcelorMittal such as Advanced and Ultra High Strength Steel (AHSS and UHSS) grades of up to 1200 MPa and Usibor®1500P, specifically designed for the growing application in hot stamping. VAMA’s world-class product lines will include a continuous pickling and cold rolling mill with an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, followed by a continuous mixed annealing line with a capacity of 1 million tonnes, and a continuous hot dip galvanising line with a capacity of 0.5 million tonnes.

Output will be China-focused, with the aim of developing a world-class local supply to serve the growing local market. VAMA is also aiming to supply international carmakers and Tier 1 auto makers, to promote high-end solutions to domestic car manufacturers and their suppliers’ networks. VAMA aims to foster partnerships with ArcelorMittal’s major global accounts present in China (such as Volkswagen, GM, Ford, PSA, Daimler-Benz, BMW, Toyota, Honda, Renault, Fiat and Nissan) as well as with large domestic manufacturers such as Geely, Chery, Dongfeng, Guangzhou Auto, Shanghai Auto and Changan.

Mr. Wang Jun, chairman of VAMA, said: “VAMA is committed to leading the development of China’s automotive steel industry in close partnership with automotive manufacturers, while providing safer and more eco-friendly advanced automotive steel, which also meets the sustainable development requirements of China’s automotive industry. Meanwhile, we are proud that we have an experienced and effective international team from many different countries working closely with our local team, which enables VAMA to be more inclusive of different cultures and maintain a unique international perspective of the market.

From left to right: Mr Wang Jun, chairman of VAMA, Mr. Li Jian Guo, CEO of Valin Group, Sanjay Sharma, CEO of VAMA and Mr. Jiao Guo Hua, COO and project leader of VAMA

Brian Aranha, CMO of ArcelorMittal automotive worldwide, said: “ArcelorMittal is the leading supplier of flat carbon steels to the global automotive market, including advanced and ultra high strength steels: trademarked and patented products such as Extragal® and Usibor®. VAMA represents the introduction of ArcelorMittal automotive technology in China. VAMA is the result of a strong partnership with Valin Steel. Both partners are committed to ensuring the success of VAMA with competitive technology, global R&D support, management know-how, a strong brand and customer focus.”