ArcelorMittal is redirecting certain orders to other plants in France to minimise customer impact. It has sourced slab externally to meet year-end delivery commitments following a fire in October that resulted in a complete production stoppage at the Fos-sur-Mer site, Kallanish learns.
According to a company note, the blast furnace and steelmaking plant are currently shut down, while the sintering line is extending its scheduled downtime.
The coking plant is operating using its own gas, and the conveyor train, finishing lines, and logistics are handling and shipping existing stock.
The site teams are now focused on dismantling and rebuilding the damaged sections. “Based on analyses and supply lead times, the steel plant is scheduled to restart in early December in a temporary operating mode. The timeline for returning to full, normal operations is being finalised,” it notes.
According to market sources, Fos-sur-Mer will resume full production towards January, although this has not been confirmed by the company.
During this period, managers will allocate personnel according to the condition of the installations and the needs of the restoration work. For facilities that remain shut down, employees will spend 50% of their time on activities such as maintenance, instruction updates, improvements, and training, and 50% on downtime.
Natalia Capra France
