Steel producer Arcelor Mittal is to further invest in its Polish operations in a bid to meet growing demand for its products within the region.

Steel is becoming increasingly important to food and beverage companies as part of an increasing focus by industry and governments for sustainable packaging.

With the construction of its new Steel Service centre in Krakow, the group hopes it can cater for growing demand of the product by ramping up its processing capacity in the country by 450,000 tonnes a year.

To allow the group to meet demand for both higher quality steel outputs the site will employ a number of leading technologies.

These technologies include both hot and cold de-coiling lines and a slitting operation to tailor its products for individual consumers.

This will consolidate the Arcelor Mittal’s position as a producer of recyclable beverage cans and food tins, which are increasingly sought by producers to meet recycling requirements.

According to the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging (Apeal), recycling is becoming increasingly important to European consumers, particularly for Eastern members.

The Baltic states, including Poland, Slovakia and Lithuania have dramatically boosted their recycling rates in recent years, with the amount of tonnage being recycled in Slovakia increasing by 37 per cent, and in Lithuania by 120 per cent in 2006.

Apeal expects the trend to continue in Central and Eastern Europe, driven by the on going development of the collection and recycling infrastructure as well as the implementation of phased EU recycling targets to be met by 2015.