Huta Laziska ferro-alloy production halt could likewise stop iron and steel output

Huta Laziska (HL), the only domestic ferro-alloy producer, stopped production late Monday night. HL president Wladyslaw Presak attributed the shutdown mainly to high energy costs.”Energy constitutes 60% of the company’s costs,” he said. According to the company’s management, for HL to remain profitable it should pay no more than DM35 per one-megawatt hour but is currently paying twice that amount. Ferro-alloys is a vital supplement needed to produce cast iron and steel, and without it Poland’s major steel mills could halt production as well, since HL is its sole domestic producer. HL’s production renewal would cost an estimated several million zlotys. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p.18) P.J.