Bruno Ferrante, chairman of Taranto-based Italian steel producer Ilva, has stated that the company's steel production facilities are currently operating at 70 percent of their capacity, as reported by Reuters.
Mr. Ferrante also stated that in the past month production activity at Ilva has remained at this level, meaning that there has hardly been any slowdown in output despite the decision of the court of Taranto around a month ago which ordered the arrest of senior officials at the plant as well as the partial closure of the facilities.
"We are meeting all the requests we are getting from the market so our customers are fully satisfied with what we are supplying from the point of view both of quality and quantity," the Ilva chairman said.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, the board of directors of Ilva lately approved a €146 million environmental plan aimed at reducing pollution in the Taranto area.
Ilva produced 8.5 million metric tons in 2011, nearly 30 percent of Italy's total steel output. It is one of the few big industrial plants in southern Italy.