October was a busy month for the steel industry this year. The 2nd half of the month decision makers and strategists from all over the world gathered in Bilbao (Spain) for the European Steel Forum, organized by AIST. This event is organized annually in a different city in Europe. This year's edition coincided with the STEEL TECH conference and exhibition, organized by Siderex. The 2nd day of the event we were welcomed in the headquarters of IDOM, the event sponsor.
The city of Bilbao was the perfect setting and location for this event. The theme was on the much-needed revival of the steel industry, which is under huge pressure because of high energy prices and uncertainty due to global turmoil. The city itself is characterized by a tremendous heritage related to the steel industry, and is located in the Basque country in Spain, still an important center of steelmaking technology in Europe. As the city declined in the 70s and 80s of the previous century, it future wasn't looking that rose at all. Visiting the city today you encounter a totally different vibe. Using its steel heritage as a solid foundation, the city has re-invented itself as a center for technology, inovation and culture. The downward spiral was stopped, and today new initiatives for development and growth are born almost every day.
Picture: (c) AIST
Underlying we could feel a much more positive vibe taking over the industry. This was highlighted by the Keynote by Ron Ashburn, entitled "Making Steel Great Again". Based on lots of data, Ron showed that indeed a lot of recent investment programs will drive the steel demand in the future: data centers, green energy, nuclear power. Challenges do exist though, but rather than focussing on all that is bad: let's look at all that is positive and already happening today! A lot has been achieved in the mean time, relying on mere engineering whit and creativity. As a result a lot of plants are implementing small and large improvements that lead to increased efficiency, higher product quality and/or lower carbon emissions. This point was further illustrated by the list of recent and upcoming investments by US-based steel producers.
We at Zensor also notice the positive vibe. Steel mills are increasingly open to implementing our so-called virtual engineers. The goal: increase the availability of the critical instalations on-site, and make them more eficient. By combining the data you already have with a set of additional data streams, a whole new type of play can be unlocked. Insights that were previously not available are generated, continuously and automatically. The background of process issues is identifeid and the systems even provide tips for improvements (and what not to do any more in the future). Using the same data for process improvement both as for structural and component health unlocks much more advanced insights, leading to a smarter and more conscious management of the installations.
Maybe, onde day, we can look back at 2025 being the year that represented the turning point for the steel industry, like 1992 was for Bilbao: the moment where a new momentum was introduced after having hit rock bottom. Time will tell, but we will definitely support this process through our advanced and innovative solutions, from the inside!
Looking forward to the 2026 editionof the ESF, this time in Udine (Italy).