SSAB Europe

Leading Nordic-based premium steel producer of high-quality strip, plate and tubular products

Fast facts

SSAB Europe is a leading premium producer of high-quality steel strip, plate and tubular products. The division stands out from other steelmakers through its know-how of production processes, applications of high-strength steels and value-added services.

Employees, approximately: 6,700

Revenue in 2022: 50,068 million SEK

Head of SSAB Europe: Olavi Huhtala

Steel shipments in 2022: 3.2 million tonnes

Market position

SSAB Europe is a market leader in the Nordic home market region, with a complete portfolio of high-quality steel products and support services including strong technical customer support. SSAB Europe’s market share in the Nordics is 40-45%. SSAB Europe has a leading position in selected Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS) applications for the global automotive industry. Strong brands like GreenCoat® and COR-TEN have also given SSAB Europe a leading position in color-coated products. SSAB Europe has an extensive portfolio of tube products. The Nordic countries account for about 50% of sales, the rest of Europe for about 40% and the rest of the world for about 10%.

Market drivers

Key drivers of SSAB Europe’s business are the continued demand for more sustainable and efficient solutions in various steel-using industries like automotive and construction. New safety regulations, emissions caps and a shift to electrical vehicles are all trends that increase the demand for high-strength steel in the automotive industry.

Market position

Strengths

  • Close collaboration and long-term commitment to customers combined with support services
  • Extensive product portfolio with unique automotive and premium steels supported by strong product brands
  • Leading technology and materials expertise, application know-how
  • Flexible service and supply chain adapted to end customer and distribution channels
  • Among the most CO2-efficient blast furnaces in the world and a strategy to bring fossil-free products to market in 2026

Strategy

SSAB Europe is responsible for sales of strip, heavy plate and tubes in Europe as well as global business in the Automotive customer segment. SSAB Europe is also responsible for steel and plate production in Raahe and Hämeenlinna, Finland, and in Luleå and Borlänge, Sweden, and operates tube production in Hämeenlinna among other sites.

SSAB Europe's product portfolio includes brands such as Docol (advanced high-strength steel for the vehicle industry) and Greencoat (color-coated steel for the construction industry) as well as other brands and standard products.

SSAB Europe focuses on developing the offering of products and services by, for example, improving the product mix and working with various distribution channels. Premium products comprise advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) for the vehicle segment and premium steels. SSAB Europe is strongly positioned in several vehicle applications with some of the most advanced products on the ultra-high-strength steel market. In premium steels, like color-coated products, steel for effective laser cutting and corrosion-resistant steels, SSAB Europe will continue focusing on upgrading from standard to premium products and developing offering to new customer segments and applications. This also applies to the development of fossil-free steel, for which a number of SSAB Europe's customers have entered into partnerships.

 

Strategic targets

  • Share of premium products of 46% (2023)
  • 800 thousand tonnes of Automotive AHSS shipments (2023)
  • Market share 40-45% in the Nordic market

 

SSAB Europe contributes to SSAB's strategy by:

  • Strengthening the position on SSAB's Nordic home market
  • Increasing the share of premium products
  • Switching from blast furnace technology to electric arc furnace technology in Luleå and Raahe
  • Developing the fossil-free offering

 

SSAB Europe has responsibility for the following Group strategic targets:

 

SSAB Europe

Percentage of premium products

 

 

SSAB Europe Premium

Shipments, thousand tonnes

 

SSAB Europe Automotive AHSS

Shipments, thousand tonnes

 

 

40–45%

Market share in the Nordics (over time), SSAB Europe – supported by Tibnor and Ruukki Construction

Customers and end-users

SSAB Europe’s extensive product portfolio allows the division to serve customers in diverse segments and in a wide range of applications. SSAB Europe sells products directly to end customers and to service centers and distributors. SSAB Europe supplies different steel grades to major OEMs in the automotive and heavy transport sectors. These manufacturers are seeking the benefits of lightweighting and more efficient fuel consumption. Heavy plates are used extensively in the Nordic markets and within Europe in the marine and energy sectors, while color-coated materials are used primarily by manufacturers of steel roofing and rainwater systems, particularly in the Nordic and Eastern European markets.

Customers and end users

SSAB Europe’s main customer segments:

  • Automotive
  • Building construction & infrastructure
  • Industrial applications
  • Heavy transport (incl. marine)
  • Energy
  • Construction machinery
  • Service centers

Products and services

SSAB Europe has a broad product offering through internationally well-known product brands. Yield strength classes of hot-rolled products up to, but excluding, 690 MPa. (Steel grades of 690 MPa and above in hot-rolled products, other than automotive, come under SSAB Special Steels’ product offering.) Cold-rolled and galvanized products are available in tensile strengths ranging from 200 to 1,700 MPa. SSAB Europe’s product offering also includes customized products for diverse uses from mild deep drawing steel to ultra-high-strength steels. In addition, SSAB Europe can provide leading color-coated products designed for specific needs based on many different coating systems and various specially-developed base steel grades. SSAB Europe offer includes also cut-to-length and slit materials.

SSAB Europe’s premium products are designed to deliver sustainable environmental benefits compared to standard products in the marketplace. They include a range of branded products that offer enhanced value to customers through tighter tolerances, improved material properties and refined composition. As an example, automotive manufacturers are calling for lightweight, durable materials with beneficial environmental properties that are manufactured with resource efficiency. SSAB Europe’s cold-rolled AHSS helps to make it possible to develop safer and lighter vehicles with lower emissions. SSAB Europe also develops new functional surface coatings that lower energy consumption and maintenance costs, improve surface durability and extend the lifespan.

Customers can obtain steels in the formats that best meet their needs. SSAB Europe’s service offering includes technical advice and workshop support, training and more.

SSAB Europe’s branded products:

  • Docol®
  • GreenCoat®
  • COR-TEN® (trademark licensed from US Steel)
  • SSAB Boron®
  • SSAB Domex®
  • SSAB Form
  • SSAB Laser®
  • SSAB Weathering
  • SSAB Multisteel

The full range of products includes the following

  • Hot-rolled plate products
  • Hot-rolled strip products
  • Cold-rolled strip products
  • Metal-coated strip products
  • Color-coated strip products
  • Tubes and sections
  • Infrastructure products
  • Cut-to-length and slit products

Competitors

ArcelorMittal, Dillinger, Salzgitter, ThyssenKrupp, Tata Steel Europe, US Steel, Voestalpine.