Austrian steel giant Voestalpine invests heavily outside of Europe: CEO

Austrian steel company Voestalpine is now looking beyond the sluggish European economies for opportunities of investments, as its several major projects are underway in China, India and the United States, CEO Wolfgang Eder said Tuesday.

Eder said the company is planning to invest 160 million U.S. dollars to build a premium steel plant in China, in conjunction with a Chinese partner.

If the project were to go ahead, it would triple the Linz-based company's total investments in China to about 225 million dollars.

"This is not where it ends, however, as we have further plans," Eder added.

The company is also currently constructing two new plants in China to make specific parts for the automotive industry, he added.

Voestalpine also has big plans for India, currently employing 200 people at 16 company locations there and with massive expansion on the cards, Eder said.

At present, the Austrian company's activities in India are primarily in welding and the railway sector, though the volume of sales is "not comparable" to that of China, the CEO said.

Eder also said the company's largest ongoing project, a 620-million-dollar direct reduction plant in Texas of the United States, is "almost two-thirds completed," and expected to be up and running a year from now. Endi