Johannesburg - The South African unit of world number one steel producer ArcelorMittal on Tuesday named a new chief executive to help the loss-making company battle with cheap imports and rising costs.
ArcelorMittal South Africa hired Wim De Klerk to the top job, replacing Paul O'Flaherty who resigned to pursue other interests in December.
De Klerk was the financial director at South Africa's second largest coal producer Exxaro Resources and was previously a manager at Kumba Resources, which was later split into Exxaro and Kumba Iron Ore.
De Klerk also worked at former state-owned Iscor which was later bought by ArcelorMittal.
The local unit of ArcelorMittal in February posted a full-year loss that was 23 times wider than a year earlier due to an influx of cheap steel imports mainly from China.
Steel companies around the world are grappling with a global supply glut but South African producers are under even more pressure as Chinese imports threaten demand and hammer margins.