ArcelorMittal's Zenica long steel plant in Bosnia plans to close its coke oven battery as a result of rising costs and declining demand for steel.
However, the company will continue to produce steel by blast furnace, sourcing coke from external sources, it said.
According to the company, significant maintenance efforts over the past ten years have failed to extend the life of the coke oven battery. He concluded that further modernization was not possible and would not meet high environmental standards.
“This is a difficult day for the company, but ArcelorMittal Zenica will make every effort to ensure that the closure of the coke oven battery has as little impact on the local economy as possible “says Nikhil Mehta, executive director of the plant. “We are committed to stabilizing the company's operations and our goal is to ensure that our business is self-sustaining.”
ArcelorMittal Zenica reported a net loss of BAM 159 million ($88.2 million) last year, compared with net profit of BAM 41 million in 2022.
Supplies were at their lowest level in 14 years due to a 12% year-on-year fall in demand and a 20% increase in electricity costs, leading to additional costs of BAM 4 million.
The firm does not expect the market outlook to improve in the coming months.
Zenica resumed production in January after suspending production at its rolling mills in November due to weak market conditions conditions.
ArcelorMittal Zenica is the largest producer of long products in the Balkans with a capacity of 700,000 tons per year. The main product range includes reinforcement bars and coils, wire rods, meshes and lattice beams.
