Altos Hornos De Mexico SA AHMSA steel plant (Siderúrgica Altos Hornos De Mexico S.A. (AHMSA)), also known as AHMSA steel plant, is a steel plant in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico that operates blast furnace (BF), basic oxygen furnace (BOF), and electric arc furnace (EAF) technology.
Altos Hornos de Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V. (AHMSA) is the largest integrated steel plant in Mexico, based in the state of Coahuila, 250 kilometers from the United States border.[1]
AHMSA is a national leader in the production and commercialization of flat steel products including hot rolled coil used for machinery parts, wide plate, cold rolled coil, tinplate and tin-free steel, railroad tanks and bridge constructions, and structural shapes. It also produces non-flat steel products like heavy shapes. The company benefits from a fully integrated supply chain, with its own coal and iron mines supplying raw materials to the steel plant.[2]
AHMSA was founded in 1941 in response to steel shortages caused by World War II. The plant's location was chosen for its proximity to the iron and coal mines of Coahuila and the neighboring state of Durango. Steel production officially began with the inauguration of the plant's first blast furnace and hot-rolling mill in 1944. Additional facilities were steadily added over the next three decades, including a cold-rolling mill in 1946, a coking plant in 1955, and a basic oxygen furnace in 1971.[3]
Another major expansion came in 1976, with the addition of a second steel plant that included Mexico's largest and most modern blast furnace, new coking and pelletizing plants, and continuous casting and cold-rolling facilities.[3]
In 1991, following a period of financial instability and rising debt, AHMSA was sold by the Mexican government to its current owner, Grupo Acerero del Norte (GAN). The plant continued to grow and modernize over the ensuing three decades, with the decommissioning of blast furnace No. 1 in 2002, the addition of two new blast furnaces (No. 5 in 1994 and No. 6 in 2010), and the commissioning of a Steckel rolling mill and a 1.2-million tpa Primetals electric arc furnace in 2013 and 2015, respectively.[3]
In 2018, the most recent year for which the company reported official production figures, liquid steel volume at AHMSA reached 4.52 million tons.[4] However, production suffered a 25% dropoff in the first three quarters of 2019, due in part to tariffs imposed by the United States, according to company executive James Pignatelli.[5] By August 2020 AHMSA was reported to be in danger of bankruptcy, with losses of M$4.2 billion (4.2 billion Mexican pesos) in the first quarter of 2020 alone.[6]
Hampered by insufficient capital and ongoing financial pressures, AHMSA was forced to terminate all operations at the Monclova plant at the end of 2022, after Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission cut off power supply to the plant.[7] In March 2023, the US-based investment fund Argentem Creek Partners agreed to buy a controlling share in AHMSA, with plans to return the plant to service.[8][9][10] By the end of 2023, the new owners reported that normal steelmaking operations were on schedule to resume sometime in 2024, pending confirmation and formalization of a US $600 million financing package.[10][11][12]
To access additional data, including an interactive map of steel power plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Iron and Steel Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
