India-headquartered steel giant Tata Steel has announced that it will mothball some of its coil processing facilities, including the hot strip mill in Llanwern, South Wales, UK, adding that the equipment will be retained so it can be restarted in more favorable market conditions. This is the third time since 2009 that parts of the Llanwern steel processing plant have been idled because of market conditions.
The company explained that these measures are due to the need to reduce costs and focus on manufacturing higher-value products which will improve its competitiveness. It also said employees at Llanwern will be redeployed within the business.