OREANDA-NEWS.  September 26, 2013. ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steel and mining company, and Technip, a world leader in engineering as well as offshore and onshore construction for the energy industry, have signed an important(1) five-year contract for the supply of high-performance steel wires. This is ArcelorMittal’s most significant European contract for its wire activities.

ArcelorMittal’s site in Bourg-en-Bresse, Rhones-Alpes region, France, is part of its Distribution Solutions division and will fabricate highly-resistant, semi-manufactured rolled products to be used on flexible sheaths for the development of ever deeper oil and gas fields worldwide. The site supplies Technip’s manufacturing plants located in France, Brazil and Malaysia.

This major contract strengthens ArcelorMittal’s wire activities in Bourg-en-Bresse, which will see a significant increase in its production to support the buoyant high-potential offshore exploitation market. The site’s wire activities benefited from a EUR6 million investment over the past three years and gradually reinforced its production teams and technical capabilities.

This agreement reinforces ArcelorMittal’s position as a leading supplier for the design of high-end technological and innovative solutions for the buoyant offshore market. It also shows that the group and its French production sites can market ever better products to answer clients’ requirements and challenges.

This commercial contract comes with a research and innovation contract. The agreement envisages the development of new wire solutions to meet Technip’s needs, and will consolidate the Bourg-en-Bresse site’s technological leadership.

Alain Le Grix de la Salle, Head of Distribution Solutions at ArcelorMittal, said: “We are both delighted and proud to have signed this major contract with one of our main long-standing clients. This agreement is testimony to Technip’s trust in our solutions and our ability to accompany them in their development, as well as a reward and a challenge for our Bourg-en-Bresse teams and their expertise. This is a perfect example of partnership in which we use our research and development capabilities to create differentiation and value together with our client.”

Patrick Laudamy, Managing Director of ArcelorMittal’s site in Bourg-en-Bresse, adds: “This contract is very important for our Bourg-en-Bresse site. It reinforces the industrial outlook of our site, which has managed, over the years, to become a benchmark in the high-end steel wire market thanks to the development of more and more efficient solutions.”

Frederic Delormel, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Subsea at Technip, comments: “Our know-how and solutions are a competitive advantage for our oil and gas clients. The technological excellence of the projects we develop is one of our strategic priorities. This is reflected not only in the implementation of ambitious research and development programs but also in the crucial importance of the supply chain, part of our manufacturing policy, and therefore in the quality of the components we use in our flexible pipes.”