Voestalpine Chief Would Site New Plant Abroad as Kindberg Braces for Tariff Pain

Herbert Eibensteiner has made no secret of where he would put a greenfield factory — and it is not Austria. Asked on Friday about a new plant, the Voestalpine chief executive said he would pick a location with markedly lower energy prices and a better cost base, according to media reports. He stressed that the remark addressed a hypothetical new facility, not any announced relocation of existing operations.

The comments land as the steelmaker juggles expansion on one side of the Atlantic and contraction on the other. In the US, Voestalpine opened its expanded manufacturing site in Jeffersonville, Indiana, on 28 July, a project worth roughly EUR 70 million — the USD 80 million figure cited by the company. The build-out adds 110 jobs in total, with full production expected from mid-2027.

Tariff Stack Weighs on Seamless Tube Output

Far less comfortable is the picture at Kindberg, where the US Commerce Department, according to media reports, imposed an additional 57.38% rate about a week ago on seamless tubes, on top of an existing 50% duty. That stacks up to 107.38% in total. Voestalpine intends to fight the preliminary anti-dumping decision.

The company also plans to cut around 150 jobs at the Kindberg site by the end of March 2027, with the US tariffs named as the reason. A social plan is to be drawn up with the works council by the end of November 2026. Alongside the duties, Voestalpine has pointed to difficult alternative markets in the Middle East, and its Voestalpine Tubulars unit is adjusting production capacity there, affecting seamless tube manufacturing.

Shares Advance Despite the Headwinds

Investors have so far shrugged off the Kindberg burden. The stock climbed 1.8% today, extending a gain of 2.7% in the previous session, when it rose amid a broad recovery on the Vienna Stock Exchange. According to dpa-AFX, hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the US-Iran conflict and falling oil prices fed the prior day's momentum, while the exchange pointed to a rebound after losses the week before tied to a selloff in US AI stocks. The reports drew no direct link between the share price move and any single company announcement; the upbeat session instead coincided with news of the planned capacity adjustment at Voestalpine Tubulars.

Next on the calendar is 11 November, when Voestalpine publishes results for the first half of fiscal 2026/27, including the second quarter ended 30 September 2026 — an occasion that will put both the tariff dispute and the Kindberg restructuring under scrutiny.