ArcelorMittal Declares Permanent Shutdown of Krakow Furnance and Steel Plant

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Integrated steel maker ArcelorMittal announced its decision to permanently shut the blast furnace and steel plant at Krakow, Poland by this month end. The company blamed slump in demand due to coranvirus pandemic and surge in cheap imports from outside the EU.

Sanjay Samaddar, CEO of ArcelorMittal Poland stated that the European steel industry has been badly hit by pandemic impacts. The steel demand levels are significantly below pre-Covid-19 levels, despite recent surge in demand triggered by inventory corrections. This has forced the company to take certain difficult decisions, he added.

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The closure of the Polish blast furnace is mainly attributed to rising energy costs and carbon prices, lack of emergency trade measures and the recent EC decision to lift the quota of tariff-free steel imports from outside of the EU region. The shutdown is scheduled to begin this month and is expected to last a few weeks. Nearly 650 employees will be directly affected by the closure, the company noted.

The Krakow coke plant as well as two rolling mills, the hot dip galvanizing line and the new organic coating line will continue to operate as usual. The slabs for rolling mills will be sourced from Dabrowa Gornicza steel shop.  As per estimates, the company is believed to have invested around EUR 110 million in Krakow facilities over the past five years.