Italian stainless steel producer AST suspends production for three days

Italian stainless steel producer Acciai Speciali Terni (AST), part of the Arvedi Group, has suspended production for three days. Kallanish reports this with reference to sources close to the company.

The decision was made amid a decline in orders in the EU market after demand improved in September-October.

On November 28, 2023, the hot section of the plant was suspended. Production is scheduled to resume on December 1. On December 12, trade unions and management plan to meet to discuss the future industrial plan.

No temporary layoffs are planned during this shutdown.

«The reported low sales volumes were driven by a slowdown in end-use sectors, and in particular by the poor performance of the machine building and automotive industries. The situation is exacerbated by the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war and uncertainty related to the conflict in the Middle East, slowdown in national and international consumption, and continued high inflation,» the report said.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Italy in October 2023 reduced production of steel by 1.4% compared to the previous month – to 1.93 million tons. In January-October 2023, Italy reduced steel production by 3.4% compared to the same period in 2022 – to 17.87 million tons .

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.