Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. restarted production from its Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) facility Wednesday, Dec. 22. The BOF had been down for about 12 days following a collapse of ductwork and associated equipment at the BOF facility.

"Our employees worked diligently to restore BOF production as quickly as they did," said James G. Bradley, Chairman, President and CEO of Wheeling-Pittsburgh. "We were fortunate to have commissioned the EAF just 11 days prior to the incident and to have its production ramp up more quickly than targeted by its manufacturer. We expect to complete repairs to our standby BOF vessel over the next eight to ten weeks."

With a BOF vessel in service and with the new Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) now in operation, the company expects to achieve production levels close to those before the incident occurred. The EAF has produced 30 heats — approximately 7,500 tons of steel — while the BOF was offline.

The impact of lost production on shipments is expected to be spread over the months of December, January and February, while cost impacts will predominantly affect December. The company is currently evaluating and quantifying these costs, including the extent of insurance coverage.

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. is a metal products company with approximately 3,100 employees. It has facilities in Steubenville, Mingo Junction, Yorkville and Martins Ferry, Ohio; Beech Bottom and Follansbee, W.Va.; and Allenport, Pa.