Sidenor 2022 Sustainability Report

25 Our country is one of the main steel producers in Europe and worldwide. Spain has 22 steel production plants and 50 rolling and first processing facilities. They are concentrated along the Cantabrian coast, mainly in Asturias and the Basque Country, although the industry is widely extended, with plants in eleven of the Autonomous Communities. The sector employs over 60,000 people, to which a further 20,000 jobs related to scrap collection must be added, and has an overall turnover of around 14,400 million euros. The sector annually produces 14.2 million tons of steel and clearly focuses on exports, its products being sent to close to 160 countries. Its strategy is defined by concepts such as innovation, efficiency, sustainability and occupational safety and it is a key actor in the transition to the circular economy model. The industry recycles around 11.1 million tons of scrap each year. Furthermore, it makes an efficient use of resources and valorizes nearly 80% of the waste and by-products generated in the process. Sidenor is the main producer of special steels in Spain – a high value-added product whose manufacturing is very demanding. In the short and medium term, Sidenor expects to continue leading the national sector thanks to the significant investments it has carried out in order to improve its performance, extend its range of products and increase its production capacity. Some of the factors which could affect the pace of business are decreasing sales, mainly with regard to exports, increasing raw material and energy prices or possible changes in the environmental legislation. Sidenor and the steel sector in Spain (Source of data: Unesid 2021) 50 rolling facilities TURNOVER M€ 14,400 22 plants EMPLOYMENT 60,000 people Steel production in Spain