When ThyssenKrupp AG's carbon steel operation at Calvert begins production next spring, it will use raw steel slabs imported not from Brazil, but from Germany.

Mr Ekkehard Schulz CEO of ThyssenKrupp AG said that until production begins in Brazil, ThyssenKrupp will send its new US mill slabs made at the company's home base in Duisburg, Germany.

Mr Erwin Schneider spokesman of ThyssenKrupp said that “It began the Brazilian project in part because it was continually buying raw steel from other producers for its European operation. But because of the recession, only three of the company's four blast furnaces in Duisburg are operating now.”

He added that "We remain flexible in our planning so that we can react quickly to possible market changes."