Voestalpine wins 255 million pound automotive order

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine (VOES.VI) has won an order worth 350 million euros (254.23 million pounds) to supply components for seatbelts and airbags for a global carmaker, it said on Monday.

Voestalpine said the order meant that plants in Austria, Germany, the United States and China would be operating at full capacity until 2022 and it would have to expand production facilities.

The steelmaker is focusing ever more on technology and advanced components, a strategy that has paid off over a multi-year decline in commodity steel demand and prices. Automotive customers account for a third of its sales.

It declined to name the customer for the new framework agreement, under which its Rotec Group based in Styria will supply up to 350 million seatbelt tensioner components and around 120 million airbag components.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by David Goodman)