The company is now producing Magnelis® in Spain, at its Galvanising Line no. 2 in Avilés, in order to meet growing market demand.

Thanks to the widespread use of Magnelis® in a wide range of industries and end applications, ArcelorMittal has decided to increase the company’s Magnelis® capacity, at its plant in Avilés, Spain. The company now produces Magnelis® - which first rolled off the production line in 2010 - in Belgium, Germany and Spain.

Magnelis® has enjoyed success in the solar energy market in particular, becoming the industry’s reference product for ground mounted structures; in the last three years, consumption has tripled.  It is also becoming the product of choice in harsh outdoor and indoor environments.

In order to meet growing demand, the Avilés plant – part of ArcelorMittal Asturias - has adapted its Galvanising Line no. 2. Following best practice implementation and R&D product development, ArcelorMittal Asturias started producing Magnelis® on a commercial scale in May 2017. It will produce thicknesses from 0.5 to 2 mm.

Magnelis® - in a nutshell 

ArcelorMittal’s Magnelis® is an exceptional metallic coating, a breakthrough in corrosion protection, which ensures optimal surface protection against long-term wear and tear.  After having undergone a series of comparative tests, this revolutionary new coating has proven to perform significantly better than alternative European products.

Image: Magnelis® has become the solar industry’s reference product for ground mounted structures.

Thanks to its unique composition, Magnelis® provides an unprecedented level of surface and cut-edge protection, even in the harshest of environments.  Additionally, the self-healing effect of Magnelis® ensures the protection of uncoated edges, scratches and perforations.

Magnelis® is produced on a classic hot dip galvanising line, but the molten bath has a unique chemical composition including zinc, 3.5% aluminium, and 3% magnesium. The latter component is crucial, as it creates a stable and robust layer across the entire metal surface, providing a far more effective defense against corrosion than coatings with lower magnesium content. Magnelis® performs up to ten times better than galvanised steel and it outperforms coatings containing less magnesium.

Thanks to the high durability and adhesion of the coating, the steel can be shaped using different methods of forming including bending, drawing and profiling. 

In production and during its service life, Magnelis® has a significant lower environmental impact compared to its competitors.

Last but not least are the cost advantages over competing solutions, including freedom to optimise designs (due to the ability of Magnelis® to protect deformed shapes), lower weight of Magnelis® coating (depending on environment) to obtain the same level of corrosion resistance, protection of flat and deformed surfaces as well as cut edges and shorter logistics chain thanks to simpler fabrication processes.

Magnelis® has a wide variety of applications and today we see an expansion towards more diverse applications such as:

  • Safety barriers for road infrastructures
  • Agricultural equipments for poultry, greenhouses, ventilations, vineyard poles, etc.
  • Industrial equipment such as cable trays, cooling towers, etc.
  • Tubes and profiles for building and construction applications

ArcelorMittal recently announced that its Czech plant in Ostrava is supplying 900 tonnes of safety barriers made using the Magnelis® coating, for a major road safety project in the Czech Republic.