Fri Dec 2, 2011
PRAGUE Dec 2 (Reuters) - The world's top steelmaker ArcelorMittal will lay off 10 percent of its staff in the Czech Republic due to weaker-than-expected demand amid an economic downturn, a union leader said on Friday.
The steel producer, which makes between 6 and 7 percent of global steel, said in early November a summer dip in demand is deepening into a second-half slump and customers were increasingly cautious due to economic uncertainties.
In the Czech Republic, the company employs about 6,000 people including subsidiaries and trade union member Roman Bacica, who sits on the Czech ArcelorMittal unit's supervisory board confirmed a local agency report that roughly 10 percent of the workers will be let go.
"Demand is not as expected, there are some units in western Europe already idle," he told Reuters. He added workers can apply for a voluntary leave including severance pay by Jan. 20. next year. The plan is for them to leave by the end of the first quarter, he said.
ArcelorMittal in September launched a plan to focus production at its lowest cost steel plants aimed at boosting earnings.
It intends to close steel facilities in Liege, Belgium, and has temporarily idled blast furnaces in France, Germany and Poland as well as arc furnaces in Luxembourg and Spain.
(sourced Reuters)
Showing posts with label cut cost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cut cost. Show all posts
Friday, December 2, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Pelletization plant to cut raw material costs by 10pct - Mr Chandra Prakash
Tuesday, 08 Nov 2011
Gallantt Metal has commissioned a pelletization plant in Karnataka in a bid of backward integration. Mr Chandra Prakash Agrawal CMD of the company told CNBC-TV18 that this plant will help reduce raw material costs by 10%.
Mr Prakash said that “A large number of clearances, including land clearances, have already been acquired. Therefore, it should be commercially operational by 2013.”
Below is an edited transcript of his interview with Reema Tendulkar and Ekta Batra.
Q - We understand this 0.3 million tonne pelletization plant which is coming up in Karnataka might be quite a kicker for the company going forward. Just take us through what sort of opportunity this would present to you and when exactly it will come on stream?
A - This is basically backward integration of our unit where we will be going in for pelletization by using iron ore resulting in a 10% reduction in our raw material prices.
Q - When will you get the clearance for this pelletization plant and also when will it be commercially operational?
A - Commercially operational somewhere in the year 2013 tentatively and a large number of clearances has already been acquired and so is the land.
(Source - CNBC-TV18)
Gallantt Metal has commissioned a pelletization plant in Karnataka in a bid of backward integration. Mr Chandra Prakash Agrawal CMD of the company told CNBC-TV18 that this plant will help reduce raw material costs by 10%.
Mr Prakash said that “A large number of clearances, including land clearances, have already been acquired. Therefore, it should be commercially operational by 2013.”
Below is an edited transcript of his interview with Reema Tendulkar and Ekta Batra.
Q - We understand this 0.3 million tonne pelletization plant which is coming up in Karnataka might be quite a kicker for the company going forward. Just take us through what sort of opportunity this would present to you and when exactly it will come on stream?
A - This is basically backward integration of our unit where we will be going in for pelletization by using iron ore resulting in a 10% reduction in our raw material prices.
Q - When will you get the clearance for this pelletization plant and also when will it be commercially operational?
A - Commercially operational somewhere in the year 2013 tentatively and a large number of clearances has already been acquired and so is the land.
(Source - CNBC-TV18)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Indian Railways plans to use alloys in wagons to cut costs
Feb23, 2011, 12.36PM IST,
By Anuradha Himatsingka,ET Bureau
By Anuradha Himatsingka,ET Bureau
KOLKATA: Indian Railways plans to introduce new wagons that are cheaper by a fifth and carry almost the same weight as the existing stainless steel ones.
However, the railways will seek inputs from all stakeholders before taking a final decision on the use of 'high alloy mild steel' for manufacture of covered wagons, a railways official said.
This steel is expected to lower the production cost by about Rs 6-7 lakh per wagon, which costs around Rs 35 lakh. A wagon built using mild steel willl be able to carry the same weight as that by a stainless steel one, which is approximately 70.8 tonne.
The official said, "When we decided to go for stainless steel wagons some two years ago, the pay-to-tare-ratio' (the load factor) improved. But the procurement cost per wagon nearly doubled and adversely impacted Indian Railways' (IR) margins."
The Railways had released orders for procuring 18,000 wagons for the financial year 2010-11.
A senior industry player said, "The difference in procurement cost is substantial and will have a positive impact on IR's profits."
Half the wagons produced in the country are covered. Uncovered wagons, or open wagons, are prone to corrosion and so have a lower life span. "It is, therefore, prudent to use stainless steel for uncovered wagons. For covered wagons, we have been trying to find out ways to lower manufacturing costs. We finally zeroed in on high alloy mild steel," the source said. Steel producers have more or less agreed to supply this steel to wagon manufacturers. (via ET )
However, the railways will seek inputs from all stakeholders before taking a final decision on the use of 'high alloy mild steel' for manufacture of covered wagons, a railways official said.
This steel is expected to lower the production cost by about Rs 6-7 lakh per wagon, which costs around Rs 35 lakh. A wagon built using mild steel willl be able to carry the same weight as that by a stainless steel one, which is approximately 70.8 tonne.
The official said, "When we decided to go for stainless steel wagons some two years ago, the pay-to-tare-ratio' (the load factor) improved. But the procurement cost per wagon nearly doubled and adversely impacted Indian Railways' (IR) margins."
The Railways had released orders for procuring 18,000 wagons for the financial year 2010-11.
A senior industry player said, "The difference in procurement cost is substantial and will have a positive impact on IR's profits."
Half the wagons produced in the country are covered. Uncovered wagons, or open wagons, are prone to corrosion and so have a lower life span. "It is, therefore, prudent to use stainless steel for uncovered wagons. For covered wagons, we have been trying to find out ways to lower manufacturing costs. We finally zeroed in on high alloy mild steel," the source said. Steel producers have more or less agreed to supply this steel to wagon manufacturers. (via ET )
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Aperam to cut costs by USD 250 million through 2012 - CEO
Tuesday, 01 Feb 2011
Bloomberg reported that Aperam, the stainless steel unit spun off from ArcelorMittal last week, aims to cut costs by USD 250 million over two years, more than the USD 110 million still left to make under a previous plan.
Mr Bernard Fontana CEO of Aperam said that the company, already present in 32 countries, was open to making acquisitions in Asia, though it doesn't have anything specific to talk about at the moment.(sourced:bloomberg.net)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
