Our history

The rich history of the factory in Zenica is almost 130 years long.

Its construction was completed in the fall of 1892, and it was founded by a group of industrialists from Austria. In addition to the millennial tradition of steel production in this region, Zenica was chosen because of its natural resources, rich deposits of energy coal and well-connected roads in the valley of the river Bosna. The factory in Zenica went through numerous phases, from stopping production caused by the war in BH to modernization and employment of a large number of workers. Together with the Factory, the city of Zenica also grew.

1988 was the most successful business year in the history of the factory in Zenica, when 1,960,000 tons of crude steel were produced.

During the 1992-1995 war, the factory was shut down but trying to protect its plants from destruction and deterioration. Unfortunately, Coke plant was stopped with no hope of ever being able to start again. 

Even after the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the factory did not immediately resume production.
Workers protest to return to their jobs and revive the backbone of the city, Canton and the country. 
In December 2004, the factory in Zenica was privatized with Mittal Steel. In 2006, cooperation with Arcelor came, and the two metal giants started operating in Zenica in 2007 as ArcelorMittal Zenica. 

In addition to the unit in Zenica, ArcelorMittal also operates in Prijedor. Mining, one of the most difficult vocations, has been present in this area for more than 100 years, and in 2016, the centenary was marked. ArcelorMittal Prijedor records sixteen years of successful business in BiH during which more than 115 million marks were invested. 
Today, the company directly employs about 800 workers, and indirectly close to 8,000. The main activity is the production of lump and fine iron ore concentrate.  
ArcelorMittal Prijedor and ArcelorMittal Zenica are part of one system and cooperation takes place both socially and in business. ArcelorMittal Zenica is a strategic buyer of ore produced by the unit in Prijedor.

ArcelorMittal is coming to Zenica with the commitment to restart integrated steel production in Zenica. The biggest challenge then was the restart of Coke Plant, which was a unique endeavor that had never happened before in the world.
In 2008, the Company successfully completed the restart of integrated steel production – one of the most demanding projects in the steel industry, worth more than 230 million BAM, known as the Phoenix project.

Blast Furnace Overhaul – 2018. ArcelorMittal Zenica is implementing a historic project for Zenica, Blast Furnace Overhaul and thus extends the life of integrated steel production in Zenica for the next 20 years.