WCI Steel commences maintenance of blast furnace

WCI Steel commences maintenance of blast furnace

Ohio based WCI Steel, Inc reported that relining of its blast furnace started on June 4 as planned and is expected to be back in operation on July 17, securing the high quality iron requirements of its production units. This project will cost $15.3 million. Last relining of the furnace was effected back in 1995. Production units will become idle consecutively however, shipments will continue on a schedule throughout the relining process. On the other hand, some employees out of 1'800 will be temporarily dismissed. By the way, several other maintenance projects will be carried out during the process at its basic oxygen furnace (BOF), hot strip mill and tandem mill. WCI Steel filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2003 due to poor market and financial conditions.