Ukraine’s Kametstal, a part of Metinvest, is proceeding with major maintenance works at its main production facilities. In particular, the company is conducting an overhaul of its blast furnace No. 9.
The duration of the maintenance works is said to be around two weeks and the main target is to replace its charging apparatus and to partially upgrade the cooling system. In addition, some 64 protective plates on the upper side of the blast furnace will be replaced, in addition to a shoulder cooler and two main pressure lines. In addition, Kametstal is handling some repair works at its foundry facilities.
Kametstal is one of the two main remaining square billet producers in Ukraine, while three major assets, DMZ, Enakieve and Alchevsk SW, also billet producers, are located on territories occupied by Russia since 2014. The ongoing maintenance works at Kametstal will limit the available allocation of billet from Ukraine for production in April and in part of May. The company is expected to cover its intra-holding needs in billets and may focus on sales with greater margins to Europe instead of dealing with Turkey and North Africa where the markets are weak. “Ukraine, I think even both mills, are set to offer billet and some indications are already heard, but it is for shipment in the second half of May. It is too early to buy,” a Turkish source told SteelOrbis.