Industrie Riunite Odolesi (IRO) and ORI-Martin have suspended steelmaking operations at their respective facilities in Brescia—which is within the north Italian “red zone” of Lombardy, according to local media reports.
The two suspensions follow similar temporary stoppages by other steelmakers in the region until at least March 22.
Local trade unions claim that the recent implementation of nationwide measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 disregard protection for industrial workers in order to keep manufacturing plants running. As a result, The Italian government and industry have come under pressure from trade unions such as Fion-Cgil to temporarily halt metalworking until social safety nets and contractual instruments make it possible to sanitize, secure, and reorganize working environments.
IRO has a 75mt electric arc furnace, which can produce approximately 650,000mt of crude steel (based on an estimated 60-minute tap-to-tap time), which is then converted into billet, round, smooth, and ribbed reinforcing bars.
ORI-Martin has an 85mt electric arc furnace (with an estimated 750,000mt annual capacity), two secondary metallurgy ladle furnaces, five-strand continuous casting lines, hot rolling mill (bars, coiled bar, wire rod), straightening and controls lines, and an annealing furnace.