Liberty Steel is set to develop its Rotherham, UK facility into a 2mn mt per year ‘green’ steel unit worldwide and merge its Liège-Dudelange and Magona plants with LIBERTY Galati, Romania in the second phase of its restructuring.
The company announced these changes along with a slew of second-phase restructuring initiatives on Monday.
UK
The company had already hinted about spinning off its non-core assets in the UK in May this year. Now, Liberty plans to use the proceeds from the sale of these assets to develop the Rotherham plant and its electric arc furnaces (EAFs).
Meanwhile, industry turnaround expert Roy Chowdhary will take over the reins of Liberty Steel UK (LSUK) as chief executive officer (CEO) after Jon Ferriman steps down on Jul 2, 2021. Chowdhary has been formerly associated with the Tata Group, Canadoli Asia, and Liberty Steel Siam.
Europe
Liberty’s planned merger of Liège-Dudelange (Belgium and Luxembourg) and Magona (Italy) with Galati is aimed at optimizing the operational integration between the three facilities. These will become the primary supplier of hot-rolled coil (HRC) the conglomerate’s downstream businesses forming a secure raw material supply chain.
Supplies from Galati are expected to arrive in the near term so the receiving facilities can re-start their lines. The company’s Belgian plant had been granted temporary relief from creditors until July this year.
Australia
Liberty’s restructuring and transformation committee (RTC) is also looking for strategic partners or potential buyers for its Cultana Solar Farm and the Playford Battery project, both in South Australia.
GFG Alliance’s SIMEC will continue to retain its interest even after they are sold giving the group access to hydrogen energy. Liberty plans to leverage this arrangement to expedite its sustainable steel production plans at the Whyalla (South Australia) plant.