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Stemcor’s $30m claim against Liepajas Metalurgs upheld by court

UK steel trader Stemcor’s debt claim against insolvent Latvian steelmaker Liepajas Metalurgs has been upheld by a Latvian court, a court spokeswoman told Steel First on Thursday February 13.

February 13, 2014
By Generic people page

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Stemcor’s claim for LVL15,155,958 ($29.79 million), which was rejected by rebar and billet maker Liepajas Metalurgs, was upheld by Liepaja Court, the spokeswoman said.

“Stemcor has been Liepaja’s largest trading partner for most of the past 17 years,” a Stemcor spokesman told Steel First in October last year.

Based in western Latvia, Liepajas Metalurgs gradually reduced production last year, finally stopping output in April, and was declared bankrupt on November 12, 2013.

The company’s insolvency administrator Haralds Velmers is in the process of selling the company and its assets. 

Liepajas Metalurgs exported 780,864 tonnes of rebar and 57,285 tonnes of steel billet in 2012. Of this volume, 36% went to Algeria, 32% to Poland and 6% to the UK, according to company statistics.

Stemcor declined to comment.