Tata Steel Europe confirms that it is closing Blume Stahlservice in Mülheim an der Ruhr, which is mainly involved in the distribution of plate to markets in mainland Europe.

Tata says it has made every effort to safeguard a lasting future for the facility, but last week decided to discontinue operations, which will affect 50 jobs. The site has suffered from considerable decline in demand and dwindling prices for plate, the parent group says. The news comes in parallel with the group’s announcement that it is to cease plate production in the UK (see Kallanish 20 October).

Quarto plate imports into the EU have risen dramatically since last year, turning the region in 2015 from a net exporter of plate to a net importer. In 2014, there were 2m tonnes of plate imports against 2.3mt of plate exports.

The increase in import volume comes mainly from China, which doubled deliveries into the EU last year at a similar level to the Ukraine, both registering slightly above 700,000t. This year, the first half alone saw a volume of nearly 1.5m tonnes entering the EU, according to statistics by European steel distributor’s association Eurometal. “There are strange things happening in quarto plate,” its director general Georges Kirps says in comments on the development.

Observers in Germany tell Kallanish that the closure of Blume is in line with Tata’s earlier strategic decision to close down Namascor in the Netherlands, whilst enlarging the plate operation at its Ijmuiden mill.