2016 was a very complex year for ILVA in Taranto. Afflicted by more than one uncertainty and under extraordinary administration, it finally seems to be heading towards a continuity solution. In June, the end of the tender process officially confirmed the acquisition of the steel mill by Arcelor Mittal. Despite such a delicate corporate scenario, Semat was able to carry out its activities within the plant. The ATB Group company, which has been operating on site at that plant for twenty years and currently has a workforce of 700 considering SEMAT S.p.A. and SEMAT Engineering S.r.l., is now gearing up in light of the imminent transfer of ownership. The focus is on expanding its activities by offering complementary services for the production facilities, that is, deferrization and transport of waste, together with environmental remediation.
In fact, recently Semat has obtained two new certifications, 9B (environmental remediation) and 8C (scrap brokerage), which are indispensable to operate in these fields. This enhancement of Semat's operations has been made possible by the reorganization carried out last year: the new schedule of working hours, with new entry and exit conditions, the reorganization of the machine-shop and materials handling, and a review of the contractual terms to ensure greater relevance to the type of business carried out by the company within the plant.
Giandomenico Cuscela, Semat technical manager for the activities in the Taranto plant explained that from the production standpoint, the annual contracts, in particular in the transport sector, have been reconfirmed. Semat Engineering has implemented the package in the refractory sector by adding the annual maintenance of converters in the steel section and of the torpedo cars in the blast furnace section.
Regarding the maintenance of metal structures, Semat was awarded a significant contract for the replacement of all discharge pipes of the battery No. 11 furnaces. In the meantime, significant environmental works have continued according to the current AIA (Autorizzazione Integrata Ambientale / Integrated Environmental Authorization): construction of a structure to cover the lime stockyard (PCA); foundations for the aspiration of the exhaust fumes in the ferrous waste management area (GRF); completion of the V2 disposal area (hazardous waste) and startup of the works for the V4 disposal area. Mr. Cuscela explained that "Semat has been reconfirmed for the maintenance of the buildings, the refractory maintenance of the blast furnace, while building maintenance works such as the restoration of the piezometric tower of conveyor unit 2 continue. Additionally, Semat is stepping into a new market for plant maintenance, providing spot cleaning jobs for the areas affected by conveyors of primary materials stockyards.”
In order to improve production performance, a new operations control manager position has been added "so as to be able to provide a more accurate estimate of costs. We are moving on all fronts to present the company as a versatile and reliable supplier to the new ownership and to become increasingly competitive and aggressive on the market" stated Mr. Cuscela.
The transition period, hopefully the last, will continue throughout 2017. This management change could bring with it new development opportunities for Semat.