Ezzsteel to restart flats production in Suez

Egypt's largest steel producer Ezzsteel, formerly Al Ezz Steel Rebars S.A.E., has announced that it will restart its Suez flat steel mill (EFS) by the end of the current month, according to reports citing a statement by Kamel Jalal, Ezz Steel's financial manager and investor relations director.
 
Meanwhile, the company's billet plant is expected to start production in the second quarter of 2010, with an annual output capacity of one million metric tons.
 
The recommissioning decision came following the demand revival in the foreign steel markets and the rise in prices. The company had suspended the operations at EFS since the beginning of last year, due to the decline in global steel demand which led to a regression of up to 30 percent in flats sales, i.e. down to nearly one million metric tons, after reaching 1.45 million metric tons in 2008.