OREANDA-NEWS. On October 26, Corporation “Industrial Union of Donbass” (IUD, Donetsk) together with Duferco International Trading Holding Limited (Duferco, Switzerland) and Esmark Incorporated (Chicago, the USA) have reached the agreement on delivery of up to 1,4 million tons of slabs to a group of service centres Esmark annually by Duferco-IUD from the first quarter of 2007.

According to the press-service of IUD, the agreement on deliveries is calculated for six years with an opportunity of automatic annual prolongation.

Head of Esmark James P. Bouchard has noted that this agreement promotes strengthening of positions of companies Esmark on internal and the international markets. Duferco-IUD will provide Esmark with inexpensive deliveries of slabs that will allow to restructure structure of cost price of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corporation in case of association with Esmark. According to him, it also will allow to expand manufacture of steel (EAF) Wheeling-Pitt in electric-arc furnaces from 1,7 million tons a year up to 2 million tons and to increase the general capacities on production of sheet steel of hot-rolling up to 3.4 million tons a year without launching of an expensive furnace production.

In brief, this agreement will provide resources for the joint company uniting Esmark and Wheeling-Pitt for granting services of a network of deliveries of inexpensive steel to internal and foreign buyers.