Hubert Zajicek, Member of the Management Board of voestalpine AG and Head of the Steel Division, was elected to the Executive Committee of the World Steel Association (worldsteel) at this year’s Annual General Meeting. This makes Zajicek one of the two European members of the worldsteel Executive Committee. worldsteel represents around 85 percent of global steel production and is one of the world’s largest trade associations.
The global steel industry is faced with major challenges: with international trade restrictions, overcapacity, and achieving the climate goals all reliant on global solutions. Although worldsteel is committed to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, it sees the technological transformation which is needed to meet the global climate goals as the greatest hurdle that the industry faces this century.
European steel manufacturers set the global benchmark when it comes to environmental protection, and for years voestalpine has played a pioneering role through its activities in this field. As a European member of the worldsteel Executive Committee, I will be particularly concerned with promoting international knowledge transfer in this area. The global steel industry can only protect the climate when its pulls together.
Zajicek will also focus on the industry’s long-term transition from ordinary to quality steel. Here, again, voestalpine expertise has a role to play: over the past years the steel and technology group has become a global leading provider of steel products in the premium quality segment.
Hubert Zajicek has been a Member of the Management Board of voestalpine AG since July 2019 and is Head of the Steel Division, the Group’s largest revenue generator. Zajicek was previously on the Management Board of the Steel Division, responsible for technology. After graduating in Physics from the Johannes Kepler University in Linz in 1993, Zajicek began his career as a mechanical engineer at voestalpine Stahl GmbH. He later became head of the Technical Services and Energy business unit, taking over the management of the cold rolling mill and finishing plant at the site in Linz in 2010. Zajicek’s accomplishments also include the successful completion of numerous international research collaborations as well as projects with customers and suppliers all over the world. Since 2019, Hubert Zajicek has also served as Vice President of EUROFER, the European Steel Association.
The association was founded in 1967 as the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI). It has operated as the World Steel Association (worldsteel) since 2008. The non-profit organization has its headquarters in Brussels and a further office in Beijing. worldsteel comprises approximately 170 steel producers, national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. worldsteel members represent around 85 percent of world steel production, making it one of the world’s largest trade associations. worldsteel is not a political organization and has no political agenda.
As a global manufacturer of high-quality steel products, the Steel Division of the voestalpine Group is a driving force toward a clean future worth living. It has been setting environmental benchmarks in steel production for years, working simultaneously on future hydrogen-based options to help bring about steelmaking routes low in CO2. The Steel Division is the first point of contact for major automotive manufacturers and suppliers worldwide when it comes to high-quality steel strip. It is also one of the most important partners to the European white goods and mechanical engineering industries. The Steel Division produces heavy plates for applications under the most extreme conditions in the energy sector, supporting the oil & gas industry and renewable energy generation with custom solutions. It operates the world’s most advanced direct reduction plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA, producing high-quality pre-materials (HBI) used in steel production for both Group companies and external entities alike. In the business year 2019/20, the Steel Division generated revenue of EUR 4.6 billion, reported an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 494 million, and had around 10,400 employees worldwide.
In its business segments, voestalpine is a globally leading steel and technology group with a unique combination of materials and processing expertise. voestalpine, which operates globally, has around 500 Group companies and locations in more than 50 countries on all five continents. It has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995. With its top-quality products and system solutions, it is a leading partner to the automotive and consumer goods industries as well as the aerospace and oil & gas industries, and is also the world market leader in railway systems, tool steel, and special sections. voestalpine is fully committed to the global climate goals and is working intensively to develop technologies which will allow it to decarbonize and reduce its CO2 emissions over the long term. In the business year 2019/20, the Group generated revenue of EUR 12.7 billion, with an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 1.2 billion; it had about 49,000 employees worldwide.
