Acciaierie d’Italia plans to increase steel production to 3.5 million tons in 2025

The commissioners of Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI) plan to produce 3.5 million tons of steel in 2025. Production will gradually increase after the re-launch of blast furnace No. 2, Kallanish reports.

To implement the plan, the commissioners asked the Italian labor minister to extend temporary layoffs for another 12 months, starting in March. This decision will affect 3,420 employees, of whom 2,955 work at the Taranto steel mill.

The document submitted to the Italian Ministry of Labor, Trade Unions and the Ministry of Enterprise and Industry (MIMT) states that Taranto produced 2 million tons of steel in 2024. Currently, the company operates only blast furnaces No. 1 and No. 4, which ensures the production of 8 thousand tons per day. However, at full capacity, this figure can reach 20 thousand tons per day.

The document also notes that the current production volumes do not ensure a stable cost/profit ratio.

Meanwhile, the process of selling ADI’s assets continues. The deadline for submitting final offers is February 14, 2025. Only three bidders were interested in the full package of the company’s assets: Bedrock Industries Management, a US investment fund, Jindal Steel International and a consortium including Baku Steel Company CJSC and Azerbaijan Investment Company OJSC.

ADI’s assets in northern Italy attracted more interest: seven consortia were interested in buying them. Among them are CAR Segnaletica Stradale Srl, Monge, Trans Isole Srl and Eusider SpA, as well as another consortium involving Eusider, Marcegaglia, Profilmec and I.M.C.

In addition, a consortium consisting of Marcegaglia, Sideralba and Vitali has applied to acquire a pipe rolling plant in Salerno. At the same time, none of the potential investors showed interest in the Taranto steel plant.

On October 15, 2024, Acciaierie d’Italia resumed operation of blast furnace No. 1 at its Taranto plant. According to the company’s statement, this is an important step in ADI’s recovery plan and confirms the commitment of the special commissioners, the Italian government and the company to continue to resume production activities at the steel plant.

Prior to the launch of BF No. 1, only blast furnace No. 4 was in operation in Taranto. Blast Furnace No. 5 has been out of service for several years, and Blast Furnaces No. 1 and No. 2 were shut down in the second half of 2024.

ADI planned to reach production of 1.9-2.2 million tons of steel in 2024. Blast furnace No. 2 is scheduled to restart in the first quarter of 2025.