Troubled Polish steelmaker Liberty Czestochowa has been directed into receivership. Liberty Group tells Kallanish it is considering legal options and remains committed to the Polish heavy plate mill’s production restart.
Talk has been circulating for weeks of the plate maker entering insolvency proceedings, with its difficult financial situation and lack of production being discussed at a recent industry event.
“We are disappointed with the Court’s decision, which is based on the action of a single, small supplier. We are now considering our legal options but continue to be committed to the restart of LIBERTY Czestochowa,” a Liberty spokesperson says.
Last month, Tomasz Slezak, the chief executive of Poland’s state-owned Weglokoks, said his firm would consider acquiring Czestochowa if the opportunity arose. The mill’s heavy plate output will be in demand from Polish offshore wind power investments and for defence purposes, making it an important plant for Poland’s national security, he pointed out.
The Polish plant said in March it was gearing up for resuming production following a long period of stoppage. Former Sanjeev Gupta advisor Raghav Aggarwal was brought in to lead the firm’s “war cabinet”, supporting the management and Liberty European upstream businesses chief executive Theuns Victor in implementing a turnaround plan.
The mill’s trade unions meanwhile met with the Czestochowa City Council to highlight the steelworks’ need for working capital, resulting in the Council wording an appeal for help to the Polish government.
Liberty Czestochowa has a 700,000 tonnes/year EAF and 1.2 million t/y heavy plate capacity. Its operational problems have mirrored those at Liberty’s other mills in Central and Eastern Europe.
Adam Smith Poland
