Hesteel to take over Zelezara by the end of June – Production to start in 2017

(Photo: zelsd.rs)

This is in accordance with the envisioned two-month transition period arranged at the end of April when the Minister of Economy Zeljko Sertic and the chairman of Hesteel Yu Yong signed the sale agreement.

The chairman of Hesteel Yu Yong stated on Sunday, June 19, 2016, that Hesteel would make use of the advantages of technology, ecology, sales network to the full extent and that it would make Zelezara Smederevo the most competitive company of its kind in Europe through hard work.

He added that the visit of the Chinese president Xi Jinping and the Serbian president Tomislav Nikolic to Zelezara is a great incentive which will serve as the motive to work even harder and to develop Zelezara Smederevo.

- By the end of this year, we will be working on strategic plans and the production should start in 2017. I hope that, by the end of 2017, we will reach the maximum production capacity, which is around two million tons of steel – said Yu Yong for RTS.

As he stated, the Chinese initiative has opened the possibility for Hesteel to accelerate the development of the strategy, and through global resource owning and through mastery of the market, a rare opportunity has presented itself for the building of a world-class Hesteel.

The representatives of Zelezara have already visited Hesteel's steel mills in China in order to become familiar with the production procedures which will soon be implemented in Zelezara.

- It's a powerful company which pays great attention to detail. One thing they're working on and perfecting and something that Europe will need is green steel, which our mill will be producing – points out the head of the Independent Union of Metalworkers of Zelezara Mileta Gujanicic.

Hesteel is planning to invest EUR 300 million in Zelezara, reach the maximum production of 2.1 million tons and keep all 5,050 workers.