ISD Huta Częstochowa: City Council suggests renationalisation

The Częstochowa City Council asks the Polish Government to take urgent action to save ISD Huta Częstochowa from bankruptcy. ISD Huta Częstochowa is over 120 years of metallurgical tradition and one of the largest producers of sheet metal in Poland and in the European Union.

The situation of the entire plant is changing dynamically to the detriment of employees and the city of Częstochowa. The owner's bankruptcy petition for three companies - ISD Huta Częstochowa, ISD Polska and ISD Trade has canceled the chance of attracting one of the potential investors. The future fate of the plant is uncertain and the situation of employees is becoming more and more difficult due to serious delays and depletion in salaries.

The City Council takes the position that in the absence of acquiring a new investor, the chance for the plant is the renationalization and inclusion of ISD Huta Częstochowa in the Polish Armaments Group.

The Częstochowa plant with a modern rolling line together with heat treatment furnaces is the largest producer of thick plates in Poland, which represents 85% of the domestic market share. The sheets and steel produced by the Częstochowa steelworks are intended for the defense, shipbuilding and construction sectors. The smelter has the necessary certificates for the so-called special production, i.e. for the needs of the defense industry and conducts further research on armor plates. Products that have passed ballistics meet MIL standards according to NATO standards.

Over 1,200 people employed in the plant, 5,000 people in cooperating companies and the city of Częstochowa are waiting for effective actions of the Government of the Republic of Poland. The fall of ISD Huta Częstochowa is a blow to thousands of families and a drama for our city and subregion.

The company itself stated: "We call for urgent action to protect the plant against falling and save thousands of jobs. Incorporation into the Polish Armaments Group is a great opportunity for the plant, but also the use in the defense industry of the technological capabilities of ISD Huta Częstochowa. It is difficult to imagine the functioning of the defense industry without the participation of a domestic supplier of thick and armored plates. For strategic reasons, Poland cannot allow the collapse of ISD Huta Częstochowa."

Source: ISD Huta Częstochowa, Photo: Fotolia