Market sources have told SteelOrbis that the Algerian plant of Turkish steel producer Tosyali has resumed production this week after a halt of at least four days of its production operations due to strikes by its workers. Meanwhile, the sources stated, this suspension of production spurred local buyers' interest in long steel imports, especially from Italy and Spain.
However, production has resumed this week after the company and workers - totaling 3,700 - reached an agreement regarding an improvement in working conditions and an increase in salaries.
Tosyali Holding has an annual production capacity of 3.2 million mt of rebar and 600,000 mt of wire rod. Last year, it produced a total of around 1.5 million tons of long products.
At the end of last year, Tosyali commissioned a 4 million mt pellet plant and a 2.5 million mt direct reduced iron (DRI) plant, both in Algeria.
Also at the end of 2018, Tosyali sold 10,000 mt of rebar to the US. This was the first rebar export deal from the North African country, which for several years has been trying to limit steel imports by increasing its production capacity.