Iran Ups Steel Production by 8%

Iran\'s Alloy Steel Company has increased its production by 8% during the first six months of the current Iranian year (March 21-September 22), official reports said on Monday.A report by the public relations office of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) quoted the managing-director of the company as saying that Iranian Alloy Steel Company has produced 149,000 tons of different types of crude steel. The report said that the figure showed an 8% growth compared with the same period last year when the company had produced 138,200 tons of crude steel. The official further said the company has exported over 14,000 tons of different types of its products to a range of countries, including Germany, Armenia, the UAE, Brazil, Turkey, France and Poland, during the said period. The company\'s products include heat resistant steels, case hardening steels, micro alloys, spring and cold work tool steels. Late in July, the World Steel Association reported that Iran\'s crude steel production had increased by 11.4% in the first half of 2011 compared to the same period in the previous year. Iran produced 6.527 million tons of crude steel in the first six months of 2010. Iran was the second biggest steel producer in the Middle East in 2010.