Mar 25 2013
Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B), the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, has started operations at the steel dust recycling plant in the city of Gyeongju, in the southeastern region of South Korea.
The plant has a capacity to recycle 110,000 tons of steel dusts annually, which will increase Abengoa's capacity in 2013 to 750,000 tons/year. The facility uses advanced SDHL technology, developed and patented by Abengoa, which is a safer and more sustainable technique for recycling steel dusts, achieves higher levels of zinc recovery and is more energy efficient.
Abengoa has also reached an agreement with Korea Zinc, the largest zinc producer in the country, to sell the entire production of Waelz Oxide produced by the plant over the next ten years.
Abengoa entered the Korean industrial waste management market in September 2012 through Befesa, its steel dust recycling division, in an agreement to acquire 55% of the Korean company Hankook R&M, valued at €60 million, which recycles steel dust at the plant in Gyeongju.
South Korea is already the world's fourth largest market in terms of steel dust production, with an estimated volume of 500,000 tons/year, representing an important business opportunity for the company. Abengoa's industrial waste division is undertaking an ambitious international expansion plan, consolidating its position as a leader in this sector in new regions around the world.