The Russian mining and steel producing company Mechel has announced the compliance of its Romania-based steel subsidiaries Mechel Targoviste and Mechel Campia Turzii with the viability benchmarks established by the European Commission (EC) within the framework of the restructuring strategy for the Romanian steel industry.
Mechel's subsidiaries were monitored by the EC in the period from 2004 to 2008, as soon as state aid, in the form of write-offs of the plants' historical debts, was granted to both of them in the course of privatization. Following the EC's confirmation of the plants' compliance with the key restructuring benchmarks, Mechel will not have to pay back the state aid received.
According to Mechel-Steel Management's CEO Andrey Deineko, the company invested over $100 million in Mechel Targoviste and Mechel Campia Turzii between 2004 and 2008, which is 1.5 times above the level of investments specified by the EU. Mechel plans to continue its started modernization program at the Romanian plants, the main aim of which is the implementation of new technologies in steel smelting and in rolled product segments, and also the increase in output of high value-added products.
The pre-crisis production levels at Mechel's Romanian steel subsidiaries are expected to be reached by the end of 2010.