Steel Mills

Evraz NA: Divestment From Russian Parent Will Strengthen Company

Written by Laura Miller

August 11, 2022

Chicago-based Evraz North America is encouraged by its Russian parent company’s decision to divest its North American assets. The steelmaker said the move would provide increased certainty for its North American operations and employees.

evraz naEvraz plc’s announcement of a sale “strengthens our long-term stability and will allow us to continue to lead in the markets where we have enjoyed success in the past,” Don Hunter, senior vice president of Evraz NA’s Portland, Ore., business unit, wrote in a letter to customers dated Wednesday, Aug. 10.

Hunter said the governments of both the US and Canada are supportive of a change in ownership. Additionally, Evraz plc is working closely with the government of the UK to ensure the sale process goes smoothly for all parties. The company is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange.

Hunter reiterated that Evraz NA “continues to operate independently in all areas of our operations and decision making, including corporate financing, operation of production facilities and the procurement of raw materials.”

The Russian steelmaker announced on Wednesday its intentions to divest its North American assets, pointing out that it has not received and does not intend to receive any income from Evraz NA’s activities this year.

Evraz NA’s operations include a plate mill and spiral-weld pipe mill in Portland; a rail, rod and seamless pipe mill in Pueblo, Colo.; and extensive oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and line pipe operations in western Canada. The company is also the largest scrap recycler in western Canada.

By Laura Miller, Laura@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. Since 2007, she has held various editorial and marketing positions with steel industry publications, associations, and mills. In 2021, after a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel trade journalism, joining SMU in 2022. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

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