PITTSBURGH, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Zinc producer Horsehead Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Horsehead Holding Corp. , today announced that it will reduce operations at its zinc smelter in Monaca, PA, by idling one of its six furnaces at the facility in an effort to improve profitability.
"The steep decline in the price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange over the past year, combined with simultaneous increases in energy and transportation costs, requires a proactive approach on our part," said Jim Hensler, Horsehead's President & CEO. "We believe reducing the intake of high-cost secondary feedstock and paring back to a five furnace operation at our Monaca facility along with continuing implementation of our cost reduction strategies will reduce our cost of production as the proportion of our feed from low-cost recycled electric arc furnace dust increases."
Horsehead Holding Corp. is a leading U.S. producer of specialty zinc and zinc-based products. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, Horsehead employs over 1,000 people and operates six facilities throughout the U.S. Visit http://www.horsehead.net/ for more information.
Some of the statements in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements about our future prospects, operating plans, business strategy, commercial relationships and financial performance. Statements that contain words such as " will", "should", "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "hope" or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the Company. Because forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, the plans, actions and actual results of the Company could differ materially from those described in this release. Among the factors that could cause plans, actions and results to differ materially from the Company's current expectations include those factors identified under Part II, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" in Horsehead's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at the SEC's website at "http://www.sec.gov/".
