Slovakia’s US Steel Kosice restarts last of three blast furnaces

Slovakia’s US Steel Kosice restarted last month its blast furnace No.3 and is currently operating all three blast furnaces and other facilities, the mill’s spokesman told S&P Global Platts Feb. 1.

“We adjust our production and the range of our products to the current situation and demand of our customers,” said the spokesman. “We do not make any forecast. There are too many question marks around the European steel market.”

US Steel Kosice is now running all three blast furnaces and is watching the market closely, especially in light of resurgence in coronavirus cases.

“Safety and health of our employees will be the most significant criteria for taking any further decision,” elaborated the spokesman.

The plant is capable of making up to 4.5 million mt/year of steel, but its current capacity utilization rate has not been disclosed.

US Steel Kosice restarted the other two blast furnaces and the hot rolling mill in June 2020, after it had been suspended due to the pandemic’s impact on economies in the second quarter of 2020 to carry out maintenance works that had been initially scheduled for the thord quarter that year.

The US Steel-owned integrated steel and coke plant in Slovakia conducts its business mainly in Central and Western Europe. It produces and sells slabs, plate, sheet, tin products, spiral welded pipe, and refractory ceramic materials, and primarily serves customers in the transportation (including automotive), construction, container, appliance, electrical, service center, oil and gas conversion and petrochemical markets.

— Ekaterina Bouckley