Vincent Birarda, Market Manager within ArcelorMittal’s Construction division, is a steel professional. He decided to use his knowledge, not only at work, but also at the service of sustainability. In fact, he ‘invented’ his own eco-friendly house made of steel. The prototype will see the light of day in Murles, France, this spring. Read Vincent’s story below…

“My original idea was two-fold: first, I wanted to show that a construction could perfectly well meet all the requirements of a low energy consumption building, while not exceeding the price of ‘traditional’ constructions. I also wanted to show the suitability of dry die systems (which have the advantage that no concrete needs to be brought to the construction site) and of steel solutions in general.

The idea was to use the highest number of ArcelorMittal products possible, sometimes diverting them from their primary use. For instance, it is the very first time that Flamstyl (Taranis) panels were used for individual housing purposes. While they are normally used in industrial environments as firewalls or to build refrigerating rooms, the panels will constitute the wall of the house.

Cofradal 200 is normally used in service-providing buildings, but in this project it will constitute the flooring of the ground floor and also to support the vegetal roof terrace. Its distinctive feature: the floor integrates heat pipes which have been incorporated at plant-level within the framework of an R&D programme led in collaboration with ArcelorMittal’s Liege research centre.

Even the foundation blocks have been prefabricated at the plant. Thanks to a load-bearing structure entirely made of steel, there is no need for a bricklayer on the construction site anymore. This again reduces lead-time, but most of all it reduces noise pollution during the construction phase.

I am convinced that, tomorrow, building houses will be less about building and more about assembling industrial products. It is the exact same evolution that plasterers have witnessed over the past 30 years: they have seen their profession change into that of a dry liner who simply lays plasterboards.

Steel construction has to follow wood construction in an increasing ecological market. These two dry die solutions answer the new regulations and the eco-friendly spirit for today and tomorrow.”

From the stadium in a small town to the most prestigious arenas, steel is considered as the best solution for stadium. Not only is it used for the structure, but also as material for the roof and the façades, the safety devices, fences and all relevant equipments. Aesthetics or resistance? Steel allows both!

Considering its mechanical properties, its ability to propose architects and structural engineers an infinite variety of forms, steel is the preferred material for stadiums roofing. Enabling long span structure without columns, enabling complete visibility for the spectators and TV cameras, with light high resistant structure, steel offers a full range of architectural forms to design stadiums of all capacities. More and more stadiums are also used as concert arenas, needing then to be covered by a mobile roof. In such cases, steel is the only possible solution, as it combines excellent resistance and light weight.

During the last decades, ArcelorMittal was involved in each major football event requesting stadiums construction: for the Football World Cup, in France, Germany, now in South Africa, while Brazil is already under preparation. We will also be represented in the 2012 European Championship in Poland/Ukraine. Even the latest European League Championship final took place in the prestigious Real Madrid stadium, for which refurbishment ArcelorMittal supplied steel some years ago.

We provide steel for the final premises, but we are also sure that whatever the winner is, there were ArcelorMittal aficionados to support this team since the very beginning! With our vuvuzelas ready, let’s wait for our favourite teams to play!

Author: Bénédicte Hennico, Distribution Solutions, Communications (picture: wide.lu)

By the end of 2010, Spain should be the country with the largest high-speed network in service – more than 2,500 kilometres, ahead of leading nations in this means of transport such as France or Japan. ArcelorMittal Asturias, in Spain, is contributing to this project by providing so far the vast majority of the rails used to build this critical infrastructure.

Our Asturian rail mill started producing rails to be used in the AVE (both the Spanish word for ‘bird’ and acronym of Alta Velocidad Española – Spanish High Speed) in 1990, and it expects to opt to all public competitions in order to keep on supplying the high-speed rails until 2020.

By then, and unless the Spanish austerity plan just announced by the government has an impact on the high speed investments, Spain will have a total of 10,000 km of high-speed lines and all capitals of the province will be connected to the network. This means that 90% of Spanish people will live less than 50 km away from an AVE station!

ArcelorMittal Asturias is not only producing rails for the Spanish high-speed network, though: Germany and Turkey also have a strong presence of our rails in their high-speed networks, and the mill has produced all kinds of rails for over 30 countries.

Why? Partly because of its technology, which allows rolling rails up to 90 metres long. This is an advantage for high-speed trains because longer rails mean less welding and less movement. “The longer the rail is, the more difficult it is to produce. The state-of-the-art devices of our finishing line allow us to be among the only high-speed producers in the world,” explains Pablo Bermejo, Rail mill manager of ArcelorMittal Asturias.

Thanks to our Asturian rails, you can travel today from Madrid to Barcelona in 2 hours 40 minutes, and soon it will be possible to go from London to the Costa del Sol by high-speed train…

Want to know more about our Asturian rails? Check out this video!

Collaboration: Gerardo Alonso and Alberto Carrero, ArcelorMittal Spain, Communications

August 27, 2009 was a good day for ArcelorMittal Steelton, in the US. The site hosted an event spotlighting The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in action: US Representative Tim Holden, together with management from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) announced a train rail order from SEPTA for a modernisation project, which resulted from federal stimulus funding…

“We are proud to be the rail supplier for this stimulus-funded project and remain committed to providing our customers with high-quality products,” said Dave Wirick, General Manager, ArcelorMittal Steelton (speaking in the picture – standing behind him, US Rep. Tim Holden). “With a rich history dating back to 1867, Steelton provided the rail used to build some of the first railroads in the US, and now we will help update and enhance our country’s rail system.”

Over the years, ArcelorMittal Steelton has supported industrial growth in the US and helped build the infrastructure that is now being updated and repaired through the application of stimulus funds. US rail infrastructure – whether for mass transit, commuter and long distance passenger service, or improved freight capability – is in need of revitalisation.

Our Steelton facility is one of only 3 rail producers in the US and is prepared to utilise its skilled workforce and rail production technology to supply future stimulus projects.

Author: Katie Patterson, Communications, ArcelorMittal USA

“Do you know the width of a soccer field?” I was taken aback by this manager’s question. First day of my new job, intro chats with many people. They talked about steel, steel and steel. It sounded abstract to me.

“So, do you know the width of a soccer field?!” By the time I could figure out a reply he was on the phone again. To keep me busy he passed me some ‘toys’. Tiny pieces of steel in Z- and U-shape, with a little hook at the end.

He hang up.

“These are sheet piles. 40 meters of soil or water; that’s what these enormous things can hold!” pointing at my toys.

Not sure about the spelling of this product, I did not take any notes.

“Look how these interlocks perfectly slide into each other. Like a rescue team they hold hands, making a water tight wall!” he continued. “Can you imagine my life? Looking for ships and trucks to transport those all over the world? Can you imagine the size of hammers you need to drive them deep into the ground?” he said excitedly.

“They are used for the BIG projects. Projects for the history books. Dry docks, dams, and river diversions. They protect us from hurricanes, flooding and landslides.”

“OK, that’s it I guess” he said. “If you have any questions, come and see me again. I am the sheet pile guy, remember”.

I walked out of his office and smiled. Yes, I will remember this.”

Author: Lynn Robbroeckx, Media Relations

In cooperation with publishers Edition DETAIL, ArcelorMittal Distribution Solutions’ Innovation & Construction Development team has just published a new book. It talks about the inspiration and technology of steel in construction as well as the state of art of steel in today’s architecture.

In a preface jointly authored by Detail and ArcelorMittal, it explains that: “The aim is the promotion of steel as the favoured construction and building material giving all necessary information to enable planners and decision makers, above all architects and engineers, to base their project concepts and pre-design on steel solutions.”

DETAIL – Institute for international architectural documentation, is specialised in communication to architects for 50 years. The book lists over 25 projects with stunning pictures printed on high gloss paper. Aimed primarily at architects, and written by a host of well known international authors, this hardcover book also helps to position our Group and its offers as a benchmark in terms of competencies and performance within any steel application in construction.

Collaboration: ArcelorMittal Distribution Solutions – Innovation & Construction Development
Are you interested in buying a copy of this book? www.detail.de

May 2008: a deadly earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 hits China, killing at least 68,000 people. August 2009: marking a new start after the Sichuan earthquake, 2,000 Chinese children start their classes at the new anti-seismic Xinhuamen Primary School, made with steel.

Shortly after the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 caused irreparable damage, the ArcelorMittal Foundation, in cooperation with the Gansu and Luxembourg government, supported rebuilding of the Xinhuamen school.

Besides high resistance to earthquakes, the new building design provides an efficient lay out, low height for safety, energy saving and improved comfort through proper insulation, maximized daylight, natural ventilation and efficient shading. As part of ‘green’ education, students experience first-hand ‘green’ systems at work, which include: solar collector for hot water, rainwater collection system for irrigation and a green roof which reduces temperature in the building and lengthens durability of the roof.

Looking today at children playing or doing gymnastics in the courtyard is a heart-warming experience for all those who participated in the reconstruction of the building. What an earthquake destroyed in only 3 minutes has been rebuilt and improved in only one year. We wish the children of Gansu a very successful new school year!

Collaboration: Lynn Robbroeckx, Media Relations

Did you know that, by 2050, energy saved in buildings could help reduce more CO2 emissions than the entire transport sector? As a major player in the building sector, our Group can help make this happen.

Construction is one of our biggest markets. With buildings currently representing around 40% of primary energy use globally and the figure set to rise, the potential for energy savings is huge!

The question is… how to release all this potential? Energy-efficient practices and technologies already exist – the key factor is to speed up the pace at which these tools are being adopted. That’s why the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) created the initiative Energy Efficiency Buildings (EEB).

Now, our Group has joined the EEB initiative. By doing so, we are reaffirming our commitment to demonstrating the sustainability of steel solutions for the construction market.

Interested about the project? Check out the WBCSD’s website

Collaboration: Didier Bridoux, Research and Development Construction, Tobin Postma, CR Communications