Japanese owner signals long-term commitment to steelworks employing more than 7,500 people.
Japan’s Nippon Steel has outlined plans to overhaul production at Slovakia’s largest steel plant, betting that lower-emission manufacturing can help secure the future of heavy industry in a European market squeezed by weak demand, rising energy costs and tougher climate rules.
The company has submitted plans to Slovak authorities to build an electric arc furnace at its steelworks in Košice, eastern Slovakia, replacing part of the site’s coal-intensive production with a process powered largely by electricity and recycled steel, according to Forbes.
The investment marks the clearest indication yet that Nippon Steel intends to keep and modernise the Košice operation after taking control of the plant through its $15 billion acquisition of the US steelmaker U.S. Steel.
For months, uncertainty had surrounded the future of the site, which employs more than 7,500 people and dominates the economy of eastern Slovakia. Some industry observers had speculated the Japanese company might eventually sell the business after completing the takeover, having initially focused its attention on US operations.
