Fatal accident shuts Marcegaglia Ravenna plant

Italian re-roller Marcegaglia closed its Ravenna site yesterday after a worker was crushed by a coil, Italian market sources told Argus.

The plant, the largest in the group's 6mn t/yr plus processing empire, is scheduled to reopen on 18 July. The worker was crushed while manoeuvring an overhead crane, the sources said.

Ravenna produces pickled, cold-rolled, hot-dip galvanised, pre-paint, as well as skinpassed hot-rolled and annealed coils.

Trade unions called for a strike yesterday, including at Ravenna port, while the deputy public prosecutor, Silvia Ziniti, called for the equipment and the area where the accident occurred to be seized.

Ravenna is the seaport where the company takes daily delivery of its hot-rolled coil feedstock.

Marcegaglia could not be reached for comment.

Sources expect the stoppage to exacerbate delays in the market, with Marcegaglia already operating on much longer lead times than usual.

By Colin Richardson