Voestalpine to reline Linz blast furnace 5 this summer

Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine will take down blast furnace five at its Linz site for relining in August-October.

The site has three blast furnaces capable of producing around 5mn t/yr of pig iron. Number five is one of the smaller two at the site, with production capacity of around 840,000 t/yr, according to Argus records. The larger furnace, A, produces two-thirds of the site's pig iron.

Linz is a large supplier to the automotive sector, with 38pc of Voetalpine's steel division shipments by revenue going to the sector — the division's revenue was €6.6bn during the 2022-23 year.

The planned maintenance comes at an opportune time for the coil market in general, with demand at a low ebb — automotive has been one of the stronger offtakers this year, as reduced supply chain disruption allowed carmakers to increase output. But sources question the strength of demand going forward, given the difficult economic backdrop.

Voestalpine is not the only mill to conduct blast furnace maintenance. US group Steel Kosice is also taking down a blast furnace for maintenance this month, it recently confirmed to Argus. Other producers are also taking units off line, according to market sources. Tata Steel is undergoing the reline of a blast furnace at its Ijmuiden site in Holland, which was postponed in the second half of last year.

ArcelorMittal confirmed today that it will keep its Fos-sur-Mer site in France operational after successfully appealing against the labour inspectorate's decision to close the site given employees' high exposure to emissions.

By Colin Richardson