All processes directly or indirectly linked to the process units blast furnace, hot metal treatment units, blast furnace blowers, blast furnace hot stoves, basic oxygen furnace, secondary metallurgy units, vacuum ladles, casting units (including cutting), slag treatment unit, burden preparation, BF gas treatment unit, dedusting units, scrap pre-heating, coal drying for PCI, vessels preheating stands, casting ingots preheating stands, compressed air production, dust treatment unit (briquetting), sludge treatment unit (briquetting), steam injection in BF unit, steam generation plant, converter BOF gas cooling and miscellaneous are included

Production of pig iron or steel (primary or secondary fusion) including continuous casting, with a capacity exceeding 2,5 tonnes per hour

2.2. Installations for the production of pig iron or steel (primary or secondary fusion) including continuous casting, with a capacity exceeding 2,5 tonnes per hour.

Although the sale of Duferco Clabecq’s continuous casting was carried out as part of the contributions made by the two private partners of Carsid, that sale was justified by the fact that Carsid had to produce for the Duferco group slabs of a specific size which necessitated the purchase of a continuous casting plant that met the criteria of the plant situated at Clabecq.

Following the announcement by the Chairman of the Usinor Sacilor group in February 2001 that he intended to close down Cockerill Sambre’s hot-rolling line in Charleroi, talks were entered into between Usinor-Cockerill Sambre, the Duferco group and Sogepa primarily with a view to setting up a joint venture to produce slabs based on Cockerill Sambre’s existing mill in Charleroi together with the plant owned by Duferco Clabecq (continuous casting) (8).

(c) Crude and semi-finished products of iron, ordinary or special steel (including products for re-use and re-rolling), such as liquid steel cast by continuous casting or differently, and semi-finished products, such as blooms, billets, bars, slabs and strips;