Serbia-based steel producer HBIS Group Serbia Iron & Steel, a part of leading Chinese steelmaking company Hebei Iron & Steel Group, has announced that it will shut down its blast furnace No. 1 at its Smederevo plant by the end of July, amid the unfavorable global market conditions which have resulted in weak steel demand. The furnace will restart operations when demand rebounds.
Previously, the blast furnace with an annual capacity of 900,000 mt was shut down on July 5, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the market situation that prevailed at the time, as SteelOrbis previously reported. The furnace was restarted in August 2021.
The company’s blast furnace No. 2 continues to operate.
