Stainless steel
and nickel alloys market

JACQUET Metals trades in the market of high-value metals sourced by industrial companies, primarily stainless steels and nickel alloys.

 

The Group stores mainly thick plates that are either sold as such or cut according to customer specifications.

The world market for steel products amounts to approximately 1.33 billion tons, of which 2.1% represents stainless steel products.

The market for stainless steel plates is split as follows:   

  • Cold rolled plates, with 14.5 million tons produced up to 5 mm thickness, for use in the automobile market, as well as in consumer products industries for application such as household appliances, utensils/cookware and decoration,
  • Hot rolled plates, with 4.5 million tons produced, for industrial use (boiler construction and structural steel work.

There are two types of thick plates:

  • Hot rolled sheet metal (strips, coils),
  • Hot rolled sheet metal using a QUARTO type rolling mill. These plates often exceed 12 mm and represent approximately 1,100,000 tons, i.e. 3.9% of the total stainless steel market. These plates represent the core market products of JACQUET Metals.

These 1,100,000 tons are split equally between project and distribution activities. Based on its current consumption, JACQUET Metals will account for 10% of the worldwide market for distribution.

The world-wide consumption of stainless steel has increased by an average of 5.5% per year over the past twenty years. In 2007, the consumption of hot rolled stainless steel, a trade segment of JACQUET Metals, has also regurlaly expanded due to:

  • anticorrosion and neutrality properties of the product used to process fluids and gas in the following sectors of Industry:
    - chemical, including pharmaceutical and cosmetic,
    - agricultural processing (hygiene constraints and easy maintenance),
    - paper manufacturing,
    - gas processing and storage (cryogenics, tecnical gas),
    - water treatment (settling tanks, desalination of sea water, transport and distribution),
    - environment and pollution control (processing of flue gases and waste),
    - nuclear industry,
    - more recently, for use in construction work.
  • regular reworking of the alloys in order to meet increasing requirements from the various sectors of industry. While only two stainless steel alloys existed in 1960, JACQUET Metals now supplies seveteen varieties, completed over the past few years, and as much nickel alloys with anticorrosion properties superior to stainless steel.

JACQUET Metals market covers over a third of industrial applications in Europe and in the world.

12.35 € / +0.05%