Italy-based steel processor Marcegaglia this week confirmed that it is pressing ahead with its expansion projects despite the current crisis in the industry.

CEO Antonio Marcegaglia told the World Steel Dynamics/Metal Bulletin conference in Paris that his company is maintaining its €1.2bn ($1.5bn) of investments over the next four years because the longer-term prospects for the industry remain solid.

Marcegaglia’s investments will mainly be in organic growth, but the CEO did not rule out possible acquisitions to add to its existing total processing capacity of some 5m tonnes/year.

One of the group’s aims is to become a more international company. Of its expected €5.2bn in sales, it wants as much as 30% to be outside Italy.

As Steel Business Briefing has reported, Marcegaglia is working on new projects in Poland, the UK, the USA, Brazil, China and Russia.