Swiss trading company Trasteel is set to sign a lease agreement for the coil processing facility at Magona in Piombino, Tuscany, with previous owner Liberty Steel by the end of this month, according to sources close to the matter.
The lease will take effect in September, with one source noting that Trasteel will await all necessary authorisations, including antitrust clearance. Re-rolling activity is expected to resume in the fourth quarter, with capacity gradually increasing, before reaching full capacity next year.
This month, one section of the Magona facility operated for one week and another department for around ten days, carrying out re-rolling work for Trasteel. The plant will be completely idle from now until September.
The lease of the facilities must end no later than 31 December 2027, “with the hope that by that date Trasteel will have completed the definitive purchase of the plant. In the meantime, the company has stated it will work to gradually regain market share. The news of the imminent signing of the lease agreement is certainly positive,” a Fiom-Cgil note obtained by Kallanish says.
It adds that Fiom-Cgil will “only be able to truly celebrate when production resumes on a regular basis and all workers can effectively return to work”.
Earlier this month Trasteel reached an agreement with the Greensill receiver and the ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMT) which announced the imminent signature of the lease agreement.
Trasteel is initially leasing and then buying Magona from the Greensill receiver following the collapse of the bank in 2021, which left Liberty on the brink of insolvency.
Trasteel was not available for comment when approached by Kallanish.
