ArcelorMittal plans to temporarily shut down blast furnace No. 2 at its French steel plant in FOS-sur-Mer due to lack of orders. How reports Platts, the closing will take place within the next few weeks.
"the Company has said it will resume production when three conditions are met: when the crisis in health care will be under control in the geographical region and on a European level, in which the company operates; when demand will resume at a minimum; and when the company, in particular, ArcelorMittal, unable to resume investing in the conditions of sharp reduction of resources", - stated in the message.
Plant in FOS-sur-Mer has a production capacity of 4 million tons of steel per year and is one of the largest French manufacturers of sheet steel, of which 80% is produced for the automotive industry. The company serves the Mediterranean and the Maghreb, in particular, 30% of its market share falls to Italy, 30% in Spain, and the remaining 10 percent is divided between North Africa, Turkey and France. Italy and France - the countries most affected by COVID-19, and car production is still suspended in both places.
Previously, on March 23, ArcelorMittal has stopped a blast furnace № 1 in FOS-sur-Mer due to the outbreak of coronavirus, as reported in Platts.
ArcelorMittal employs 2,500 employees on the site in FOS-sur-Mer and 1 500 external contractors. Over the past 20 years the company has invested over 1.3 billion euros on the object. In accordance with the statement of ArcelorMittal for a period of five years, the company invested 100 million euros to reduce the impact on the environment, reducing emissions of dust and sulphur dioxide by 50%.
