ArcelorMittal Warszawa’s production stoppage continues, with the firm working on ways to reduce energy consumption, while investments continue, it says.
The Warsaw-based mini-mill suspended production over the summer on account of a decline in orders, especially in the rebar segment (see Kallanish passim). The firm’s SBQ production in 2021 was 166,400 tonnes, the highest-ever annual output.
Recent months have seen a significant decline in demand, while prices of electricity and gas have simultaneously recorded a sizeable rise, says the firm’s general director, Artur Gierwatowski. Since the firm halted production, it has been taking measures designed to reduce energy consumption.
“We are thinking in the long term, adapting our activities to market demand and variable energy costs on an ongoing basis. For now, there is great uncertainty in the steel industry,” Gierwatowski writes in the firm’s October newsletter. “We are therefore analysing various scenarios to prepare for an effective response to potential energy or raw material shortages.”
The firm says that, despite the stoppage, it is continuing its investment into soundproofing the dust collector chimney to reduce noise pollution, while the flue gas cooler modernisation has been completed. The firm is also continuing the process, started last year, of obtaining Responsible Steel certification.
The mini-mill plans to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 80% in 2025 versus 2020, and by 92% in 2028, by sourcing an increasing volume of electricity produced by renewables.
Adam Smith Poland
