In 1996, SOVEL, a subsidiary of SIDENOR, acquired the assets of “METALLOURGIKI HALYPS” at Almyros, Magnesia in Central Greece. The industrial complex comprised of a steel plant, rolling-mill facilities, a construction mesh production unit, a pipe manufacturing unit and auxiliary units is situated in a total area of 770,000 m². To date, SOVEL is a modern, vertically-integrated unit manufacturing steel products.
Some of the important advantages of Almyros plant are:
- The geographical location of the unit in the centre of Greece
- The port facilities reducing the transportation costs of raw materials and finished products
- The extensive area enabling further vertical integration with additional steel processing units
During 2011, the works for the installation of a new long products Rolling mill were completed (Compact Mill), thus increasing the mill’s production capacity by 300,000 tons to a total of 1,200,000 tons per annum. This new line is based on state-of-the-art production methods and for the first time long products will be manufactured without the use of a reheating furnace, thanks to the uninterrupted casting/rolling method. The above investment was made possible following the installation and operation of the constant supply method of the CONSTEEL electric furnace, which began in the third quarter of 2007.
Currently SOVEL produces a wide range of steel products:
- Billets
- SD Grade C Concrete Reinforcing Steel (B500C - ELOT 1421-3) of high tensile strength and ductility
- Spooled Coils
- SD Cut-to-Length rebars
- SD Stirrup Reinforcing Mesh (for columns, beams and shear wall)
- Special SIDEFIT mesh
- Prefabricated SIDEFOR and SIDEFOR PLUS steel cages
All products are subject to stringent controls during all production phases so as to consistently ensure high quality.
The Quality Management System is certified according to EN ISO 9001:2008 by ELOT.
The plant of SOVEL at Almyros applies an Environmental Management System certified according to ISO 14001:2004 by ELOT and also an Occupational Health & Safety Management System according to OHSAS 18001:2007 / ELOT 1801:2008.
