Steel Industry Podcasts | SteelOnTheNet

Dr Andrzej M Kotas

Expert analysis and strategic intelligence on the global steel industry. Episodes covering decarbonisation, market trends, policy impacts and strategic insights for steel executives and professionals worldwide.

  1. 4d ago

    Episode 13: The Cost-Price Squeeze – Why Steel Gets Cheaper Every Year

    [SteelOnTheNet] A business plan that holds steel prices flat for 20 years is not conservative – it is optimistic. Dr Kotas explains the cost-price squeeze: why steel gets cheaper to make every year, where the savings come from, why steel technology changes by evolution, not revolution, how big the squeeze is and four practical consequences for planners, feasibility studies and analysts. 21-minute episode with Dr Andrzej M Kotas. Topics: Strategic Planning | Steel Prices | Technology | Global Steel industry podcasts by SteelOnTheNet. View all Steel Podcasts. Listen on Apple Podcasts →

  2. Oct 1

    Episode 12: Buying a Steel Mill – Red Flags in Due Diligence

    [SteelOnTheNet] A steel mill can look profitable on paper and still need tens of millions in unplanned spending within two years of changing hands. Dr Kotas sets out six red flags in steel due diligence – demonstrated capacity, deferred maintenance, optimistic cost assumptions, trader sales near variable cost, legacy environmental liabilities and supply contracts – each with a practical test to apply before signing. 15-minute episode with Dr Andrzej M Kotas. Topics: Due Diligence | Acquisitions | Investment Risk | Global Steel industry podcasts by SteelOnTheNet. View all Steel Podcasts. Listen on Apple Podcasts →

  3. Sep 10

    Episode 11: Why Steel Mills Don't Close – What Finally Closes Them

    [SteelOnTheNet] Why do loss-making steel mills stay open? Because closing costs more than continuing: operating defers pensions, redundancy, decommissioning, remediation and take-or-pay commitments, while exit crystallises all of them at once. Dr Kotas sets out three reasons mills stay open and the five triggers that actually force closure, drawing on Redcar, Port Talbot, Scunthorpe, Granite City, Rohrwerk Maxhütte and Smederevo. 26-minute episode with Dr Andrzej M Kotas. Topics: Plant Closure | Restructuring | Industrial Policy | Global Steel industry podcasts by SteelOnTheNet. View all Steel Podcasts. Listen on Apple Podcasts →

  4. Aug 5

    Episode 10: Busting Some Big Steel Myths – Three Industry Fallacies

    [SteelOnTheNet] Three persistent steel industry myths, examined and debunked: that steel in general is a strategic material, that developing economies need their own steel industry to industrialise and that G7 countries need to preserve virgin, iron-ore-based steelmaking. Dr Kotas draws on current examples including British Steel's 2026 nationalisation, Sheffield Forgemasters, Nigeria's Ajaokuta Steel Company and SNCF's switch to EAF-sourced rail steel in France. 22-minute episode with Dr Andrzej M Kotas. Topics: Trade Policy | Industrial Policy | Electric Arc Furnace | Global Steel industry podcasts by SteelOnTheNet. View all Steel Podcasts. Listen on Apple Podcasts →

  5. Jul 1

    Episode 9: The Feasibility Study Trap – Why Steel Projects Fail

    [SteelOnTheNet] Why do so many steel projects fail before they start? Dr Kotas examines seven classic failure modes in steel feasibility studies – from demand overestimation and logistics blindspots to technology misjudgement, CAPEX underestimation, cost competitiveness, optimism bias and governance weakness. 25-minute episode with Dr Andrzej M Kotas. Topics: Investment Appraisal | Project Management | CAPEX | Global Steel industry podcasts by SteelOnTheNet. View all Steel Podcasts. Listen on Apple Podcasts →

  6. Jun 4

    Episode 8: China's Steel Flood – Overcapacity, Bankruptcies and Promises

    [SteelOnTheNet] China exported a record 131 million tonnes of steel in 2025 – more than the entire EU produces annually. Global excess capacity reached 640 million tonnes and keeps rising. Dr Kotas examines the property market collapse, the wave of mill bankruptcies and why Beijing's capacity pledges are undermined by provincial governments. Conclusion: Chinese overcapacity is structural, not cyclical. 20-minute episode. Topics: China | Overcapacity | Trade Policy | Global Steel industry podcasts by SteelOnTheNet. View all Steel Podcasts. Listen on Apple Podcasts →

  7. May 1

    Episode 7: Capacity Utilisation – The Steel Industry's Most Powerful Predictive Metric

    [SteelOnTheNet] One number predicted every major steel crisis of the last fifty years – before it arrived. Dr Kotas explains why published capacity utilisation figures are frequently misleading, why BOF and EAF operations face fundamentally different danger thresholds and how investors, companies and governments should use the metric correctly. Topics: Overcapacity | Plant Performance | Blast Furnace | Electric Arc Furnace Steel industry podcasts by SteelOnTheNet. View all Steel Podcasts. Listen on Apple Podcasts →

  8. Apr 2

    Episode 6: Understanding Steel Mill Yield Losses – From Hidden Costs to Profit Recovery

    [SteelOnTheNet] Yield losses quietly drain millions from bar mill profitability every year. Covers crop losses, cobbles, scale formation, batch size optimisation and furnace atmosphere control. A 2% yield improvement on a 500,000-tonne mill generates €4–7m additional profit annually. 19-minute episode with Dr Andrzej M Kotas. Topics: Plant Performance | Casting & Rolling | Technology Steel industry podcasts by SteelOnTheNet. View all Steel Podcasts. Listen on Apple Podcasts →

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Expert analysis and strategic intelligence on the global steel industry. Episodes covering decarbonisation, market trends, policy impacts and strategic insights for steel executives and professionals worldwide.

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