On April 20, Taranto, Italy-based steelmaker Ilva, a subsidiary of Riva Group, announced the reignition of its blast furnace No. 4.
According to company's press release, the rebuilt blast furnace No. 4 is a state-of-the-art furnace. The complete rebuilding will allow a substantial cut in energy consumption, while reduced coke input needs will lead to an overall reduction of environmental impact.
At present, Ilva operates three blast furnaces built or rebuilt in the last 10 years, indicating the high technological level reached by Ilva.
President of Riva FIRE Group, Emilio Riva, commented, "We invested €240 million in this project, but today we can say we operate one of the best smelting plants in the world."