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Greek Mytilineos keeps only zinc and lead plant in the country closed

Autor: Adrian Cojocar

27.03.2011, 23:42 51

Mytilineos group has kept activities of Sometra Copşa Mică, theonly zinc and lead producer in Romania with over 140m euros inturnover in 2008, closed for more than two years, though at themoment production was suspended it had described the move as"temporary".

The group closed the plant when zinc prices stood at 1,100dollars/tonne, but currently a tonne of zinc sells for 2,300dollars.

The group has not specified a date by which the Romanian complexwould be reopened, only specifying it awaits prices to pick up onthe market.

The decision to shut down the Copşa Mică plant came amid theplummeting zinc and lead prices in the wake of the global crisis,with the company unable to cover its operating costs anylonger.

Last March, the Greeks laid off 735 of the around 1,000 workersof Sometra, with the company having now 178 employees.

The move to close the plant for over two years and makeemployees redundant was one of the toughest decisions an industrialfield company has made, though almost all producers coped withserious problems in this period.

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