Latvia’s Liepajas Metalurgs to restart production in November

Liepajas Metalurgs plans to resume production at the end November, a spokeswoman for the Latvian mill’s new owner, Ukrainian KVV Group, told Steel First on Friday October 3.

Paragraph entered by Atlantic migration, in order for SteelFirst articles to display correctly on Metal Bulletin.

Liepajas’ insolvency administrator Haralds Velmers signed the sales agreement with the Ukrainian company on October 2.

The new owner of the mill aims to launch production “as soon as possible”, with a target for the end of November.

“We would like to start at that time. This is our target time and we find it reachable,” the KVV spokeswoman said.

The company plans to roll around 35,000 tonnes of rebar in the first month, and then increase the product yield.

However, “it is too early to discuss outlet markets”, the spokeswoman said.

Market participants expect the mill to sell rebar to the same markets it used to sell before closure.

Before suspension of production in April last year, Liepajas Metalurgs sold most of its rebar to Algeria.

“Liepajas will be able to sell 35,000 tonnes to Algeria without problems. Especially if they keep selling at a price below deals with other suppliers, as they did before,” an Algerian trader said on October 3.

Poland was another target market for the mill.

When shipments resume, Liepajas will primarily be a competitor to foreign suppliers, such as Riva Germany and Belarusian BMZ, a market source in Poland said previously.

KVV will pay €107 million ($135 million) of deferred payment for the mill.

“The first payment is €17 million ($135 million) including €1 million ($1.3 million) of security deposit,” KVV’s spokeswoman said.

The payment will be made over ten years, the press secretary of Liepajas’ insolvency administrator said previously.