Steel Mills

Ilva Labor Deal Moves ArcelorMittal Purchase Toward Completion
Written by Sandy Williams
September 5, 2018
ArcelorMittal has moved closer to finalizing its acquisition of Italian mill Ilva Steel. The company announced on Thursday that it has reached a provisional labor agreement with Ilva’s trade union.
The agreement includes a commitment to employ 10,700 workers through 2020 based on their existing employment contract, as well as another 2,000 that remain employed under a separate agreement through 2023.
“The agreement we have reached with Ilva’s unions meets the two major objectives we set out at the start of negotiations: to find an acceptable solution for every employee at Ilva, and to reach an agreement that reflects Ilva’s economic reality and provides a sound base for it to have a sustainable future,” said Geert Van Poelvoorde, CEO of ArcelorMittal Europe Flat Products.
ArcelorMittal expects to complete the Ilva transaction by Nov. 1, 2018. Finalization of the purchase of Ilva will trigger ArcelorMittal’s commitment to shed other European assets under terms of the agreement.
Ilva will run out of government funding later this month, and with the labor agreement resolved Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said that he will no longer oppose the purchase. Di Maio is a member of 5-Star Movement that sought to close down the plant over environmental issues. ArcelorMittal has pledged under the transaction agreement to make investments in the plant to bring it into environmental compliance.
“The deal means that public interest will not be served by annulling the tender,” said Di Maio.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills

Nucor maintains plate prices, opens October order book
Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat for a seventh straight month with the opening of its October order book.

ArcelorMittal Mexico to import from sister mills as it works to resume DRI production
ArcelorMittal has partially restarted operations at its direct reduction plant in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan. An explosion on Aug. 18 rocked the massive steelworks on Mexico’s Pacific coast, impacting production of direct-reduced iron (DRI).

Fall maintenance outages are coming in hot
Labor Day has passed, the sun is starting to set a little earlier each day, and cooler weather has begun to find its way down to many of us across North America. And you know what that means for the steel industry… Fall maintenance outages!

AISI: Domestic steel production ticks up
US raw steel production ticked up in the week ending on Sept. 6 after a decrease the week before, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Domestic mill shipments slip in July: AISI
US steel shipments decreased month over month in July, but were up from last year, according to the latest figures from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).