Steel producer Acciaieria Arvedi announced on Monday that the company’s logistics and production operations will “proceed regularly,” despite a government-enforced quarantine in Lombardy due to Covid-19.
The region encompasses Arvedi’s Cremona Steelworks, which consist of two electric arc furnaces with a steel production capacity of 3.4mn mt per year, two ferrous scrap yards, and four ladle furnaces for secondary metallurgy.
In a translated statement sent to customers and seen by Davis Index, the Group noted that goods loading, and unloading, will proceed as usual following a statement by the Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze (Ministry of Economy and Finance) on Monday clarifying that core sectors of the economy and the public administration will remain open for business even in the restricted areas.
The ministry said personnel driven means of transport could enter and leave afflicted areas and move within them, only to the extent of delivery or collection of goods.
Furthermore, Arvedi said in a statement that all its employees must adhere to certain rules when they are collecting and delivering goods in restricted areas to protect themselves from Covid-19.
The measures include not getting out of the vehicle, being quipped with personal protection and prevention devices such as masks and single-use gloves, getting documents signed electronically, and keeping a safe distance (around 2 meters at least) if they must get out of the vehicle for loading and unloading.
Arvedi’s other carbon steel works in Trieste comprises two blast furnaces with 450,000mt per year of ironmaking capacity each (only one operational), one 420,000mt per year coking plant, an iron ore sintering plant, and pig iron casting plant.
The stringent new quarantine measures by the Italian government that aimed to contain and tackle the outbreak of Covid-19 will last until April 3 at the very least and will affect up to a quarter of the Italian population (16mn) in some of the northern-most, industrial regions of the country that include Lombardy and 14 other provinces.