Argentina’s Ternium Siderar said on Wednesday in a filing at the Buenos Aires stock exchange, BCBA, it will start a programmed maintenance at its No. 1 blast furnace, which is located at the company’s General Savio plant, in the city of Ramallo, in November.
The programmed maintenance of the equipment will start on November 16, the company said, adding the blast furnace has been operating for six years.
According to Siderar, the company’s finished steel production won’t be affected, “since the stoppage of the blast furnace No. 1 will be compensated with an increase in the production level of [the company’s] No. 2 blast furnace.” Siderar added it purchased slab in advance, so it has enough inventory to meet domestic demand.
Siderar said it doesn’t expect the maintenance to have “relevant effects in the company’s results,” since the current market situation doesn’t allow the company to export the exceeding volumes of slab.
Siderar declined to provide further details about the programmed maintenance on Thursday, as it’s under a “quiet period,” a spokesperson told SteelOrbis.
Siderar’s announcement comes just a day after a fire broke at its Ensenada mill, in the city of same name located in the province of Buenos Aires. The fire broke out at 12pm, but was rapidly controlled by local firefighters. No injuries were reported.
Workers at the Ensenada mill told local media the company didn’t have an evacuation plan at the time of the fire.