Dunaferr restarts hot strip mill

Dunaferr has restarted its hot strip mill after a three-month stoppage, a spokesperson for Liberty Steel, which is managing the insolvent Hungarian steelworks, tells Kallanish.

This follows the restart of its blast furnace no.2 and cold rolling mill last month, as well as the stabilisation of its coke batteries.

The move means “customers can yet again enjoy premium steel products made in Hungary” starting from later this month, the spokesperson says.

It will also go some way to easing the tight supply reported for hot rolled coil in Europe amid restricted production and higher import prices. Europe’s leading HRC producer hiked its offer prices again last week, although buyers say mills are unlikely to achieve their target prices in the short term (see Kallanish passim).

In 2020, the last year for which Dunaferr published production data, it recorded crude steel production of 1.18 million tonnes, despite widely reported operational problems in the second half of the year. This was down 19% on-year. The firm’s BF1 remains idle since last summer.

Adam Smith Poland