ArcelorMittal Zenica announces intention to close coke oven battery

The company explains this step by increasing maintenance costs for the unit and lower demand for its products

ArcelorMittal Zenica steel plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a subsidiary of global steelmaker ArcelorMittal, announces its intention to close its coke oven battery amid rising maintenance costs and declining demand for products. This is stated in a press release on the company’s website.

The coke plant in Zenica was opened more than 40 years ago. From 1992 to 2008, the unit’s operations were suspended. Over the past 10 years, the company has made significant efforts to modernize and maintain the plant and concluded that further investments are not economically justified, as production would not meet high environmental standards.

«This is a difficult day for the company. 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. There will be challenges, but we will do our best to keep as many jobs as possible. We plan to try to transfer a significant number of employees from this plant to other units in Zenica,» said Nikhil Mehta, CEO of the company.

The company will continue to produce steel as usual, buying coke from external suppliers.

As GMK Center reported earlier, ArcelorMittal Zenica ended 2023 with a loss of BZN 159 million ($88.2 million). Last year’s results were affected by a drop in steel demand, a 20% y/y increase in electricity prices, and a decline in prices on the global steel market.

Zenica Steel produces about 700 thousand tons of steel per year and employs 2.2 thousand people. Its main product range includes rebar in bars and coils, wire rod, mesh and grating.