Steel mills need huge upgrades

General Electric sees "tremendous upgrade opportunities" in China's steel industry, the world's largest, as more mills are revamping their facility to become more efficient and environmentally friendly.

The US giant expects Chinese mills, facing tighter environmental rules as they become global players, to require energy-efficient technologies and solutions on a big scale, although GE is unable to quantify the market size now, said Joe Mastrangelo, CEO of GE's power conversion business.

"When you look at the market itself, you're not going to see a lot of greenfield investment coming for the next few years, so it's going to be more of a revamp and brownfield market for the mid-term," he said in an interview yesterday in Shanghai.

GE will open a center of excellence next month in Wuhan, Hubei Province, focusing on metals automation to help clients, including Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp, one of China's largest mills.