Zurich to host stainless steel conference

The Circle Convention Center Zurich Airport will host the 2023 SMR International Stainless & Special Steel Conference, scheduled for Sept. 12-14 in Zurich.

In addition to a forecast from Markus Moll, a managing director at Austria-based SMR Steel & Metals Market Research, speakers and panelists have been recruited from several global stainless steel and specialty alloys producers.

Companies represented include Spain-based Acerinox, Luxembourg-based Aperam, United States-based Universal Stainless, the host country’s Swiss Steel Group, Finland-based Outokumpu, Italy-based Marcegaglia Specialties and several other firms.

Helping represent the stainless steel scrap recycling sector on the stage are panelists from Germany-based Cronimet and Netherlands-based Oryx Stainless Group.

“The negative predictions for the stainless steel market development in the second quarter have materialized," Moll and fellow SMR managing director Wolfgang Lipp say of the current stainless steel market. "The quarter has been weaker than Q1 in demand and prices, but with a slight stock improvement. Most market participants asked by SMR agree that a more balanced market picture is possible in September after summer maintenance campaigns of the steel mills, which will probably be prolonged this year.”

Regarding other topics at the conference, the duo list “problems that supply chain and distribution companies are facing,” including: inventory destocking, inflation, mitigating future supply chain risks, new and growing applications for stainless steel and alloys and looming carbon border adjustment mechanism systems.

SMR says nearly 300 executives from the stainless steel industry are already registered, with additional registrations being accepted here.