Tata Steel Nederland invokes force majeure on extended rolling mill upgrade

Tata Steel Nederland has invoked force majeure due to difficulties following its Cold Mill 21 upgrade, the steelmaker said Feb. 24.

The company said it was experiencing severe disruptions during the upgrading process of its cold rolling mill 21 at IJmuiden steelworks on the Dutch North Sea coast in the north of Holland.

Unforeseeable challenges have led to an extended commissioning of the upgraded mill, putting extreme pressure on the steelworks’ supply chain, said Tata Steel Nederland.

Despite Tata Steel’s efforts to mitigate disruptions and reduce supply risk through its own or alternative channels, the company has now reached a point where it has to inform its customers that delivery obligations cannot be fully met adding it will continue to explore all options to minimise the impact on their operations.

Tata Steel Nederland had started the upgrade of Cold Mill 21 in August 2022 to further improve the surface quality.

The blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace-based IJmuiden plant is capable of producing up to 7.5 million mt/year of hot- and cold-rolled coil in a variety of finishes, according to Tata Steel Nederland’s website, but the company declined to disclose its actual production.

— Ekaterina Bouckley