Tata Steel restarts blast furnace No. 6 in IJmuiden

Tata Steel Netherlands, a subsidiary of the Indian steelmaker Tata Steel, has restarted blast furnace No. 6 at its IJmuiden plant. The unit had been idle for 10 months due to maintenance and force majeure. Eurometal reports this with reference to the company’s data.

At the end of March 2023, Tata Steel IJmuiden blast furnace No. 6 was suspended for maintenance. Since then, the restart of the unit has been postponed several times due to technical issues.

«Replacing the lining is a major project that involves cooperation with many third-party companies. Due to certain delays and delivery issues from third parties, we had to make adjustments to the project schedule,» a Tata Steel spokesperson said in October 2023.

However, the unit is currently at the ramp-up stage. On January 31, 2024, the company started the restart process and is gradually increasing pig iron production.

The capacity of the steel plant in IJmuiden is estimated at 6 million tons of pig iron per year from two blast furnaces. BF No. 6 is capable of producing 2.5 million tons of pig iron per year. Steel production at the plant is estimated at 7.5 million tons per year. The company specializes in the production of cold-rolled, hot-dip galvanized and painted coils and tinned products.

European steel market participants were concerned that many steel capacities would be restored in the first quarter of 2024. This, in their view, could hinder the fragile recovery in rolled steel prices in the EU.

In January 2024, prices for flat products in Europe increased, mainly due to a decrease in supply as a result of reduced production and limited inventories, although end-user demand remained low.

In January, in addition to Tata Steel, German steelmaker Salzgitter resumed operation of blast furnace A at its Flachsthal plant after a four-month break.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Tata Steel Europe in April-September 2023 (first half of fiscal year 2023/2024) reduced steel sales by 4% compared to the same period in 2022 – to 1.79 million tons. Steel production decreased by 17% y/y – to 1.99 million tons.