Nyrstar Netherlands ‘urgently needs support’

The zinc group Nyrstar ‘urgently needs support’ from the Dutch government for its branch in Budel, Netherlands. There is no problem for Nyrstar in Balen en Pelt.

Nyrstar, originally from Belgium, is one of the largest zinc producers in the world and has production facilities in Australia and the US, as well as factories in Balen en Pelt, Budel (just across the Dutch border), France and Germany. However, making zinc is a process that requires a lot of electricity and is therefore not always clearly profitable to produce.

As a result of sharply increased energy prices, Nyrstar has had to shut down production in Europe several times in recent years. However, Balen and Pelt, which together form one branch, are now operating at 100 percent of capacity again, Nyrstar circles say. But Budel has been at a standstill since the beginning of this year. Still largely: specific alloys are still made for certain customers, but zinc is no longer being made yourself for the time being.

There are two reasons for this: the Dutch government’s removal of a tax benefit for industry and a higher compensation for the grid operator. According to our information, the first measure has an effect of approximately EUR 40 million and the second means that Nyrstar now has to pay approximately EUR 25 million in grid fees per year instead of EUR 0.8 million. Together this amounts to an impact of approximately 65 million euros.

Nyrstar Budel is limiting losses by not operating for the time being, but that is not sustainable, CEO Guido Janssen of the zinc group said on Wednesday in an interview with the Dutch channel RTL Z. According to him, Budel ‘urgently needs help’ from The Hague to continue in the long term. to survive for a long time. “Energy prices have now fallen, but there is no level playing field in Europe,” says Janssen. “If that isn’t resolved, we’ll have a problem.”

He does not want to anticipate the possible consequences of the lack of support. He confirms that he is afraid that Nyrstar may otherwise have to leave the Netherlands. ‘A first point of concern’, according to Janssen, is ‘keeping everyone on board’. There is also a risk that a planned investment of 100 million euros in Budel will not go ahead and may be moved to another location.

Nyrstar employs approximately 4,000 people worldwide, approximately 485 of whom are in Budel. The head office is also located there. The controversial owner of the zinc group has been the Singaporean commodity trader Trafigura since 2019. It is very profitable, but cannot continue to invest money in Nyrstar.