Pandemic „SHUTS DOWN“ blast furnace in steel plant

The Chinese company HBIS, the owner of the steel plant Zelezara Smederevo, has stopped the production in one of two blast furnaces, it was confirmed to Tanjug in that company. This decision, as stated by HBIS, was made due to the market crisis caused by the pandemic of the new coronavirus. „The reasons for shutting down the blast furnace no. 1 in HBIS Serbia are the impact of quotas on the export of our steel to European Union countries and reduced demand for steel on the market, because many of our customers stopped production due to the coronavirus pandemic,“ says Zelezara. Taking into account the plan of the purchase orders that the company received for the upcoming period, as they say, they adjusted business operation to the current situation. „Once the market conditions for the relaunch are created, the furnace will be put back into operation.“ When it comes to the employees who, as they say, are returning to their jobs, the crisis staff of that company applied measures based on the experiences from China, as well as on the directives of the Crisis Staff of the Republic of Serbia. These measures, they add, have proven effective in protecting everyone who works in the company from the coronavirus infection. In Smederevo, iron is produced in two blast furnaces, then the iron from blast furnaces is converted into crude steel in the steel mill with three converters and a complex for continuous casting.

Izvor: RTS, Tanjug

Foto: Pixabay