Brussels, July 5 (Inditop.com) Steelmaker Arcelor-Mittal would re-open the second blast furnace at its plant in Ghent, Belgium, in August, EuAsiaNews reported Sunday.
The furnace was closed down in April as a result of falling demand of steel worldwide due to the current economic crisis.
With stocks at Arcelor’s Ghent plant having largely been used up, the company decided that it was time to step up production at the site, local media reported.
The re-opening of the blast furnace will mean that many of the workers that were laid off will be able to return to work.
However, the CEO at Arcelor-Mittel Ghent, Marc Vereecke, said that “this doesn’t mean that we will see a return to last year’s high demand. Demand will remain quite low for the rest of the year.”