The CEO Magazine Asia - April 2018

theceomagazine.com | 127

steel

A will of

Fernando Teixeira is helping catapult China’s

automotive steel to new heights.

WORDS HOLLY JOHNSON • IMAGES LIU PENG HUI

F

ernando Teixeira believes everything can be improved. In fact, he believes there

is no limit to improvement as long as there is flexibility, a rather surprising concept

for someone who has worked with steel for more than 30 years.

While the alloy is renowned more for its strength and resistance than its

malleability, the industry surrounding it is proving more than pliable as it adapts

to a global pace driven by consumer demands and technology.

As CEO of Valin ArcelorMittal Automotive Steel (VAMA), Fernando has witnessed

the joint venture between China’s Hunan Valin Steel and the world’s largest steelmaking

company ArcelorMittal Steel. The venture combined the best of European and Asian talents

to provide Chinese car makers with locally made, world class steel. It was a solution to an

obvious demand as China is expected to account for 35 per cent of worldwide automotive

growth by 2020.

Safety parts, structural parts and outer panels with high-end surface finishing in safe and

cost-efficient lightweight designs are among the products being produced from VAMA’s

state-of-the-art plant located in the Economic and Development Zone of Loudi, Hunan

Province. It has created a new era of manufacturing in China, a country that has one of

the fastest-growing automotive markets in the world.

In a market where China’s overcapacity in steel was dominated by commodity steel

grades, VAMA recognised the potential to supply consumers with high-end steel grades

previously imported.

“When the two companies joined forces, China was the largest auto market in the

world with a sales volume exceeding 23 million,” Fernando explains. »

Interview | INVEST