According to reports in local media, Liege Commercial Court in Belgium has rejected steelmaker Liberty Steel's restructuring plans for its Liege subsidiary and ruled that it should be liquidated. The court ruled against the restructuring, siding with workers unions and the Walloon regionl government's investment arm Sogepa, which no longer wanted the two Belgian steel plants, Tilleur and Flemalle, in the hands of Liberty. The court appointed a trio of liquidators to notably seek buyers. This recovery process could be facilitated by the favorable global economic climate with steel prices which have been soaring for several months.The transformation plan included the tinning line at Tilleur, developing a new business model to build partnerships with major customers to manufacture specialist packaging for products, as well as using the G5 galvanization line at Flémalle to generate short-term profits. The Tilleur packing line reopened in February 2022, but the Flemalle steel galvanizing lines have been at a standstill since December due to a lack of feedstock and the ongoing restructuring process.The transformation plan and restructuring process were presented to the Liege Enterprise Court on March 30, when Liberty management also explained it had been made much more complex due to rising energy and carbon prices, supply shortages due recent geopolitical developments and excessive competition from imports into Europe.In September, it was reported that Liberty had been in negotiations with the Walloon government for Sogepa to take a 49% stake in Liberty Liege and put up a loan for the plants to continue operations.Purchased in 2018 from Arcelor Mittal, the factories still represent 690 workers. Liberty merged its Liege, Dudelange in Luxembourg and Magona steel works in Italy into its larger Galati integrated steel operation in Romania in June 2021 as part of a broader group restructuring.
According to reports in local media, Liege Commercial Court in Belgium has rejected steelmaker Liberty Steel's restructuring plans for its Liege subsidiary and ruled that it should be liquidated. The court ruled against the restructuring, siding with workers unions and the Walloon regionl government's investment arm Sogepa, which no longer wanted the two Belgian steel plants, Tilleur and Flemalle, in the hands of Liberty. The court appointed a trio of liquidators to notably seek buyers. This recovery process could be facilitated by the favorable global economic climate with steel prices which have been soaring for several months.The transformation plan included the tinning line at Tilleur, developing a new business model to build partnerships with major customers to manufacture specialist packaging for products, as well as using the G5 galvanization line at Flémalle to generate short-term profits. The Tilleur packing line reopened in February 2022, but the Flemalle steel galvanizing lines have been at a standstill since December due to a lack of feedstock and the ongoing restructuring process.The transformation plan and restructuring process were presented to the Liege Enterprise Court on March 30, when Liberty management also explained it had been made much more complex due to rising energy and carbon prices, supply shortages due recent geopolitical developments and excessive competition from imports into Europe.In September, it was reported that Liberty had been in negotiations with the Walloon government for Sogepa to take a 49% stake in Liberty Liege and put up a loan for the plants to continue operations.Purchased in 2018 from Arcelor Mittal, the factories still represent 690 workers. Liberty merged its Liege, Dudelange in Luxembourg and Magona steel works in Italy into its larger Galati integrated steel operation in Romania in June 2021 as part of a broader group restructuring.
