Steel Mills

ArcelorMittal Celebrates R&D

September 14, 2017

ArcelorMittal is on a mission to make sure that steel remains the material of choice for a modern world. The steelmaker invited state and local dignitaries, staff and members of the media to an open house on Wednesday to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the ArcelorMittal Global Research and Development Center in East Chicago, Ind.

The research center is actually one of a dozen worldwide with combined spending of over $250 million per year. ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel producer, is a leader in the development of advanced high-strength steels for the automotive industry. The company claims it has introduced six new automotive grade steels in the past year alone, as they partner with automakers to reduce vehicle weight and improve fuel efficiency. Half the steels used in today’s vehicles are high-strength alloys that did not even exist 10 years ago.

Members of the media were given a tour of a handful of the 25 labs in the 150,000-square-foot research facility. Demonstrations included a miniature rolling mill, a corrosion lab where new steel alloys are tested for rust resistance, an electron microscope that allows researchers to peer at the internal structure of steels, and a coating lab that is studying the use of a carbon fiber paint that may someday add dent resistance to automotive closures such as car doors and hoods.

Speaking to the assembled crowd, Gregory Ludkovsky, head of research and development, said he is often asked to point to the research center’s most remarkable achievement. “It’s not just one thing,” he said. “It’s that over the 50 years we are celebrating we were able to continually reinvent ourselves.”

Photo: ArcelorMittal is a major supplier of steel, including advanced high-strength alloys developed in its research labs, to Subaru’s automotive assembly plant in Lafayette, Ind.