Steel mill to halt production over Ukraine supplies

Steel mill to halt production over Ukraine supplies

SMEDEREVO -- The Smederevo steel mill Železara is set to suspend production for a minimum of three weeks over problems with deliveries of raw materials from Ukraine.

However, it will use the halt to carry out scheduled overhauls, the company's financial director, Bojan Bojković told Tanjug on Friday.

He said the costs of halting and restarting production are considerable, but that three weeks ago, in April, the Serbian government provided funds that are fully sufficient for the steel mill to operate.

The move will not jeopardize the deals already agreed because delivery deadlines for steel products are usually longer, Bojković said.

The steel mill has potential buyers for 2.5 times the amount of its steel products output, so there is no reason whatsoever to worry about future sales, he said.

The assembly and the management of the mill announced on Thursday that the plant will briefly halt production to adjust its output and pace of operations to the new conditions in the region where its raw material supplies come from, as well as to renew the loans used in 2013 and early 2014 and minimize costs.

Scheduled overhauls of the mill's main production facilities will be carried out during the halt, with operations expected to continue amid conditions similar to those in the previous business year, the statement said.