Arvedi has confirmed an investment of more than €850 million for Acciai Speciali Terni

Arvedi Group has confirmed an investment of more than €850 million for the Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) steel mill, earmarked for new production and plant re-equipment, Siderweb reports.

This was the result of the first meeting on the industrial plan held at the plant on December 12 between management, local and national unions. It is expected that the discussion will be deepened in the coming months, and the details of the projects will be disclosed after the signing of the program agreement with the Italian government, which may be postponed again until the end of January 2024.

Group Managing Director Mario Arvede Caldonazzo assured that the company is ready to invest the announced amount, even if there are difficulties with the receipt of funds under the National Pandemic Recovery Plan (Pnrr) for decarbonization, which is another 25% of €857 million. A response from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, which has been expected since November, has not yet been received.

Another issue concerned employment, and the top management guaranteed its current level As the industrial plan is implemented, the possibility of hiring up to 200 new employees was also discussed, subject to favorable market conditions. However, to ensure the company’s competitiveness, Caldonazzo said, some issues remain open, including the high cost of energy compared to competitors.

This summer, Arvedi announced that it had developed an action plan to restart Acciai Speciali Terni and applied for state support. AST’s relaunch plan focuses on investments in technology and production lines, decarbonization, reduction of production costs, and transition to higher value-added products.

As GMK Center reported earlier, AST plans to introduce a long production shutdown for the Christmas holidays in December-January. The plant’s hot strip mill will be out of operation from December 19 this year until January 7, 2024. The plant has already suspended production for three days from November 28 to December 1 due to a reduction in orders.

AST is an integrated steel plant in the stainless steel sector. The Arvedi Group completed the acquisition of Acciai Speciali Terni from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp at the end of January 2022. ThyssenKrupp has retained a 15% stake in AST as a sign of continuity and trust. AST’s sales in the 2019/2020 fiscal year amounted to approximately €1.7 billion. In the 2021/2022 financial year, a net profit of €187.3 million was recorded.