Acciaierie d'Italia (ADI) is restarting blast furnace no.1 on 15 October. The firm’s special commissioners and Italy's Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMT) Adolfo Urso will be in attendance at the ceremony organised at the Taranto steelworks, Kallanish learns from the company.

“The start-up of the blast furnace represents an important step in the restart plan of Acciaierie d'Italia and confirms the commitment of the special commissioners, the Italian government, and the company to proceed with the restoration of production activity at the steel plant,” the firm says in a note.

Two sources with knowledge of the situation have indicated that the Taranto facility has experienced significant delays in delivering hot rolled coil. This has resulted in production being disrupted at certain re-rollers and service centres, including Liberty Magona in Piombino (see Kallanish 11 October). Taranto is currently operating only BF No.4, while BF No.5 has been inactive for a number of years, and BFs 1 and 2 idled production a few months ago.

ADI aims to reach between 1.9-2.2 million tonnes of steel output in 2024. Sources, however, believe the steelmaker's production will fall short of that. In the first quarter of 2025, BF No.2 is scheduled to be restarted. By Q1 2026, the firm plans to run BFs 1, 2 and 4. The plant is eyeing production of 4.5-5mt in 2025.

Meanwhile, ADI's special administration is currently evaluating the letters of interest received by the 20 September to acquire the steelmaker. Vulcan Green Steel, based in Oman, along with Canada's Stelco and Baku Steel Company have submitted letters of interest for the acquisition of all assets belonging to ADI.

In the meantime, several firms are evaluating the possibility of acquiring specific assets from the former Ilva in the north of Italy. Marcegaglia has expressed interest in acquiring the tube mills and the Novi Ligure facility, a re-rolling plant situated between Genoa and Alessandria. Other interested parties include Italian service centres such as Eusider, Sideralba as well as Amenduni Steel, Carbones, Jiangsu Steamship, Profilmec, Continental Dry Bulk and others.

Metinvest conducted a visit to Taranto during the summer months, and steelmakers Arvedi and Nippon Steel have been considering investing. However, none of these companies formally expressed their interest through a letter, Kallanish understands.