COVID-19 halts Godawari’s steel plant
Godawari Power and Ispat has temporarily stopped operations at its integrated steel mill in Raipur, India. All manufacturing operations of the company will remain closed following the imposition of a complete lockdown for 21 days by the government. India will remain under a total lockdown till April 14 to control the spread of the COVID-19. Operations are likely to resume once the lockdown is withdrawn, said a company release. Godawari manufactures sponge iron, billets, ferroalloys, captive power, wires rods, steel wires, oxygen gas, fly ash brick and last but not the least iron ore pellets. Many sponge iron manufacturers in India have shut operations, weighing on sponge iron output. India’s sponge iron production rose by 8.9pc between Apr 2019-Feb 2020 to 34.53mn mt compared to prior year period.
Ryobi Aluminium Casting shuts plant
Northern Ireland-based Ryobi Aluminium Casting has temporarily closed its operation in Carrickfergus, according to local media. The move follows the shutdown of automobile plants across Europe. The company has placed all its 560 employees under a leave of absence until April 5. Ryobi manufactures a range of aluminium products for the automakers in Europe, the Americas, China and Japan. Ryobi melts and uses about 1,000mt of aluminium alloy per month.