Currently under construction, the Freedom Tower is due to be completed in 2012. The mammoth tower is a form of rehabilitation for those hurt by the acts of terrorism, and a way to heal the wounds of New York and the United States.
At ArcelorMittal's plant in Differdange, 20 km from here, mountains of metal scrap are being melted through a unique high temperature process to produce its speciality, the jumbo high tensile beams. From the plant, the beams are transported by train to nearby Antwerp and onwards to the United States by ship for use in the tower frame.
Since 2006, the plant has supplied 13,500 tonnes of steel for the tower, including 9,800 tonnes of jumbo beams. The tower's overall order for nearly 18,000 tonnes of ArecelorMittal steel is worth $30 million.
"Nearly 65 years ago, the United States liberated Luxembourg during World War II. Now we are proud that we are providing the basic steel structure for the emblematic Freedom Tower in New York," Michel Wurth, member of the company's group management board said. Other members of the board are Lakshmi N Mittal, Aditya Mittal, Malay Mukherjee and Gonzalo Urquijo.
The Differdange plant has been the pioneer of the steel beams used in skyscrapers, bridges, offshore structures, trusses (used in stadiums and hangars).
It produced the first 1-metre beam in 1911, and today is a global leader in this product. Beams from this plant have gone into the building of several structures across the globe, including the Shanghai Financial Center and skyscrapers of the Russia-Moscow City project.
Its contribution to the Freedom Tower will be another addition to the New York skyline, which is already dotted with 30 skyscrapers built with ArcelorMittal beams. The jumbo beams will also be a part of other high-rise buildings in Ground Zero.
"The first jumbo beam for the Freedom Tower was shipped in September 2006," said Robert Engel, the plant's director. The plant, he added, had a history and reputation of producing the biggest steel beams in the world. As the world's number one beam producer, the company's plants in Europe produce the largest range of beams and merchant bars.
According to company figures, the Europe division produces 5 million tonnes of beams and 1 million tonnes of merchant bars every year.
