ArcelorMittal Fos-sur-Mer will continue to idle blast furnace №1

ArcelorMittal Fos-sur-Mer, the French arm of global steelmaker ArcelorMittal, does not plan to restart Blast Furnace (BFU) №1, which is currently idle for maintenance, until demand for steel recovers. It is reported Usinenuvelle.

It is expected that the unit will be idle at least until the end of 2023. The company’s management decided not to start blast furnace №1 after the completion of repair work, as the operation of the two blast furnaces currently does not meet market needs.

The justification for such a decision is a significant slowdown in demand. During the first quarter of 2024, a reassessment of the state of the market will be carried out to assess the probability of the launch of BF №1.

«During the period of downtime, adaptation measures will be implemented, while the priority will be training of personnel and improving the condition of the unit’s equipment,» the management notes.

ArcelorMittal Fos-sur-Mer has almost 2,500 employees. The plant operates two blast furnaces with a total capacity of 5 million tons per year. The enterprise produces hot-rolled and cold-rolled coils for the automotive industry. In 2022, the enterprise smelted about 3.1 million tons of steel.

As GMK Center reported earlier, 2023 is an unstable year for ArcelorMittal Fos-sur-Mer. At the beginning of the summer, the company had clashes with the labor inspectorate, as a result of which the plant stopped working. The reason was the decision of the labor inspectorate, which found an excessively high level of exposure to toxic products and dust to employees, as well as insufficient protective measures.