The restart of the Liberty Magona plant in Piombino, Italy will take place in the middle of this week, instead of August.
Sources told SteelOrbis that on Wednesday, July 28, the pickling, rolling, galvanizing and painting lines at the plant will be restarted in sequence. After a month and a half of temporary layoffs, more than 500 employees should therefore return to work.
This is made possible by the arrival of a load of 10,000 mt of hot rolled coils from the Romanian plant of Liberty Galati, although it may take some time to develop a synergy with the producer. In addition, ArcelorMittal is expected to deliver another 10,000 mt of raw materials to Liberty Magona, on condition of the payment of Liberty Liège-Dudelange's outstanding debt. In conclusion, it is possible that the Magona plant is forced to stop its activities again in the short term.
As reported at the end of June, in the future Liberty Galati should become the main supplier of hot coils for the downstream activities of Liberty Liège-Dudelange and Liberty Magona, guaranteeing both units a safe and sustainable feedstock supply.
In recent months, the financial problems of the Anglo-Indian property had caused the stoppage of the production lines at the Piombino plant which, despite its positive accounts and a saturated customer portfolio, had no longer been able to count on ArcelorMittal's feedstock supplies.
Liberty Magona has a capacity of 800,000 mt per year of galvanized and pre-painted steel, although in recent years it has produced volumes of 300-400,000 mt lower.