Italian Arvedi AST has stopped one of its EAFs ahead of schedule

The stoppage is due to a technical malfunction in the system of stepping beams

Italian stainless steelmaker Arvedi Acciai Speciali Terni (Arvedi AST) shut down one of two electric arc furnaces at its Terni plant late last week due to a technical malfunction related to the walking beam system. This was reported by the ANSA news agency.

The company conducted inspections to identify the causes and try to resume operations as soon as possible.

Earlier, Arvedi AST announced plans to shut down one of the two electric arc furnaces at its Terne facility for about a week at the end of September. The company cited high electricity costs as the reason for the decision, which prevent it from competing with growing imports from Asia at lower prices.

As reported, the company pointed out that electricity costs in Italy are three times higher than in other European countries where its competitors are located. This jeopardizes the plan to restart the plant and negates the efforts made to improve efficiency, as well as the benefits of the significant investments that Arvedi has already made.

As a reminder, Arvedi AST made a profit of €187 million in the 2021/2022 financial year. The company’s turnover in the period amounted to €3.2 billion. Compared to the previous fiscal year, AST faced an increase in electricity and natural gas costs – they rose by 166% and 245%, respectively. According to the financial statements, AST recorded almost stable stainless steel supplies in FY 2021/2022.