Venezuelan steel production at 2% capacity

Sidor operated at 2% of its installed capacity in the first half of the year
María Ramírez Cabello



The first half of 2018 was a sustained retreat for the Siderúrgica del Orinoco "Alfredo Maneiro" (Sidor), after producing only 39 thousand 092 tons of liquid steel, an amount that the state steelmaker could achieve in three days operating according to its capacity installed The collapse is evident inside and outside the industry located in Guyana.

The poor performance of the industry, re-nationalized in 2008 by order of the late former president Hugo Chávez, does not surprise the workers, who have witnessed the prolonged paralysis of their plants. Steel mills of slabs and billets where the metal is transformed into large pieces that later become flat or long products, spent most of the first six months of 2018 arrested.

Until Friday, the steel mill of Palanquillas remained paralyzed, as well as that of Planchones. "Planchones had started on June 10, but due to water problems it stopped. Then, there were problems with the argon that they solved last week. Supposedly, the delay is now due to the underground drains being covered, the floor of the furnaces is flooded and it is a risk to strain steel under that condition. If a ladle is drilled or the tank is going to have a large explosion," said one worker, who preferred to keep his name in reserve for fear of reprisals...

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http://www.correodelcaroni.com/index.php/economia/item/64939-sidor-opero-a-2-de-su-capacidad-instalada-en-el-primer-semestre-del-ano

When you don't maintain or upgrade infrastructure for 20 years, things break down. NO water and NO electricity is troublesome for any business. Pile on the fact that a formerly profitable enterprise was "nationalized" (confiscated) by the Chavistas and the leadership was replaced by Chavista lackeys, and it is a recipe for disaster.