SSI UK is in the black for the first time since the Teesside facility restarted in April 2012.
The Thai steel-maker, which employs around 1,800 on Teesside, is celebrating after recording a positive monthly operational result for the first time since the momentous relighting of Redcar’s blast furnace.
Cornelius Louwrens, SSI UK’s business director and chief operating officer, said the result was a “major boost” - and the start of an “improving trend towards full profitability.”
First slab of steel produced by SSI in April 2012
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The company struggled against heavy start-up costs, weak prices and falling demand - but investment in upgrades has seen output increase in the last year.
It recently shipped its five millionth tonne of steel slab through Teesport, helping to inflate the region’s export figures.
And last July, it unveiled its £37m Pulverised Coal Injection plant at Redcar, which fires tonnes of pulverised coal directly into the heart of the blast furnace, increasing efficiency and lowering costs.
Cornelius Louwrens, SSI UK’s Business Director and Chief Operating Officer, said: “I am very pleased that we have managed to achieve a positive result in June, and everyone associated with SSI UK deserves credit for us reaching this important milestone.
“Of course we realise that we still have a long way to go to achieving our goal of making this a sustainable business, but this is a major boost for us and one which I believe will be the start of an improving trend towards full profitability.
“We are extremely grateful for the continued support we receive from our parent company, suppliers and all of our stakeholders.”
Cornelius Louwrens speaking in April 2014
SSI UK’s iron and steelmaking facilities are capable of producing 3.6m tonnes of slab a year.
SSI is the largest steel sheet producer in South East Asia and is publicly owned and listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
Earlier this year, Mr Louwrens revealed there were plans for further investment on Teesside, and increased sales in growing markets including Thailand.
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