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SSAB to Extend Summer Maintenance Outage
03/17/2009 - SSAB announces plans to extend its normal two- to four-week summer maintenance outage to as long as nine weeks based on market conditions.
SSAB, Sweden, has decided to extend its normal summer maintenance outage based on an assessment the company made concerning market development.
SSAB normally implements two- to four-week maintenance outages at its Swedish plants during the holiday period to carry out maintenance work and plant inspections. This year, the company says it will extend its maintenance outages to approximately nine weeks, primarily within the production of slabs.
At its Oxelösund facility, the company plans to halt metallurgical production from weeks 27 to 34 and rolling operations from weeks 30 to 33. The company is also planning to halt production at Luleå from weeks 26 to 33, and in Borlänge from weeks 28 to 31.
At its Oxelösund facility, the company plans to halt metallurgical production from weeks 27 to 34 and rolling operations from weeks 30 to 33. The company is also planning to halt production at Luleå from weeks 26 to 33, and in Borlänge from weeks 28 to 31.
The company said a total stop in production over the summer will help it to reduce its inventory build-up, primarily in slab production, which will also help to reduce the amount of capital tied up in inventory. The extended outage will also allow SSAB to carry out larger-scale maintenance work during daytime hours with less need for summer replacement staff, which will also help the company to reduce its maintenance costs.
In the U.S., the company continues to produce at low levels and to regularly adjust production to prevailing market conditions. The Mobile, Ala., steel mill has implemented a maintenance outage from the second week of March to the second week of April.
SSAB said its previous guidance has not changed, and that capacity utilization and production remain at very low levels. The company continues to monitor market developments and maintains full flexibility to adjust the rate of production in response to any change in demand.
SSAB, a world-leading producer of high-strength steels, offers products developed in close cooperation with the customers in order to create a stronger, lighter and more sustainable world. SSAB has 9200 employees in over 45 countries and production plants in Sweden and the United States.
