MONTERREY, Mexico — Mexico’s Acero Prime SRL de CV expects to process about 520,000 tonnes of steel products in 2013, a senior executive said, a 5-percent increase from 2012.

The San Luis Potosí-based flat steel tolling and distribution company processed some 495,000 tonnes of flat steel in 2012, general manager Arturo Marroquín told delegates at AMM’s 18th annual Mexican Steel Forum.

"About 85 percent of this tonnage went to the automotive industry, some 10 percent for the appliance sector and 5 percent to other industries," he said.

The company expects to achieve the 5-percent increase this year even though it views 2013 as "a flat year in comparison to 2012," as its major investments in Mexico aren’t slated until 2014 to 2016, Marroquín said.

Acero Prime is currently working at about 65 percent of its total processing capacity. Its San Luis Potosí facility can process as much as 300,000 tonnes per year, while its Ramos Arizpe plant has a capacity of nearly 260,000 tonnes per year.

Acero Prime also owns a steel coil warehouse and distribution center in Toluca, about 40 miles southwest of Mexico City.

The company, which provides tolling services to automotive stamping plants, as well as appliance and general manufacturers, has no expansion projects in sight for the near term, Marroquín added.

A version of this article was first published by AMM sister publication Steel First.