German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp said Wednesday that it will delay the start-up of a coking operation in Brazil that will attach to its new steel plant in Rio de Janeiro state, which is currently under construction. The company also reiterated its previous statement that it may delay the start of steel production at both its Brazil and Calvert, Alabama steelworks, but confirmed that as of yet, it has not decided to delay either project.
In an interim earnings guidance statement released Wednesday, the company said that the August start date for the Brazil coking plant would not be met, citing quality issues that need to be addressed. It did not give a new start date.
The delay of the coking operations is not expected affect the start-date of the steel plant's blast furnace, though the company said it has not ruled out delaying the steel output start date for the Brazil works based on market conditions. The five million ton-per-year steel plant in Rio de Janeiro state is currently under construction and is scheduled to begin producing steel by the end of the year.
There were also reports Wednesday that ThyssenKrupp may cancel plans to build stainless steelmaking facilities at its new US$4.65 billion steel mill in Alabama, which will consume the slabs produced at the Brazil plant. However, the company later clarified that although the stainless line startup will be delayed to the fourth quarter of 2010 as previously stated, it will not be canceled.
Thyssen also said that the larger carbon steel-producing portion of the Cavert mill could also be delayed from its current early 2010 start date, and that it will decide at the end of summer whether to delay either the Brazil and/or Alabama steelmaking projects based on the demand conditions. The firm also confirmed that construction of both the Alabama and Brazil facilities are currently underway, with no reported delays in building.