Huta Częstochowa in the hands of the state. The Military Property Agency takes over the shares. What about production?

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection received an application to establish a joint venture on the basis of Huta Częstochowa by Węglokoks and the Military Property Agency – it was reported on the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection website.

Węglokoks – which is the 100% owner of Huta Częstochowa – and the Military Property Agency, which owns the assets leased by this company, notified the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection of their intention to establish a joint enterprise. The consent of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is required in connection with the provisions on concentration.

In the final solution, after the transaction, shares in Huta Częstochowa will be held by the Military Property Agency and Węglokoks. These shares will be in similar amounts, but in the case of AMW they will not exceed 49.9%. and Węglokoks will acquire no less than 50.1 percent. (taking into account the shares currently held by Węglokoks in the company).

The steelworks in Częstochowa is the only steelworks in the country with technological capabilities to produce hardened thick sheets for the needs of the arms industry. It also includes one of the largest production halls in the European Union, which enables, among others, repair of military equipment.

The steelworks operating as Liberty Częstochowa had financial problems for years, which resulted in bankruptcy. As of February 13, 2025, it was covered by protection under the regulation of the Council of Ministers due to its significant importance for state security. On December 22, 2025, the State Treasury – through the Ministry of National Defense – purchased the property from the trustee. It came to AMW, but this is only a transitional stage. The plan was to bring it in kind to Huta Częstochowa itself, which today is only the lessee of its own installations. The Węglokoks Capital Group, owned by the State Treasury, was responsible for resuming production in Częstochowa.

Companies from the Węglokoks group operate in the fields of coal trade, metallurgy, energy and logistics. The Węglokoks Group is also the largest exporter of thermal coal in Poland.

For Węglokoks, Huta Częstochowa is of key importance. The management board of Węglokoks announced the adoption of a new strategy on March 30. As the company's spokesman, Michał Łyczak, pointed out, the strategy refers to business trends for several years: steel is gradually becoming the main pillar of the company, and logistics is gaining in revenues and capital expenditure.

Tomasz Ślęzak, president of Węglokoks, quoted by Łyczak, emphasized that for years the company had been associated mainly with the coal trade. “However, the market environment is changing and the group's business model is also changing. It can be said that the strategy until 2030 is a program for the transformation of the traditional Silesian coal-based enterprise, which is what has been of great interest to us here in the region lately,” Ślęzak illustrated.

The steel segment, which is already the most important area of ​​Węglokoks' activity, is to be responsible for approximately 70% by 2030. revenues (in 2022 it was 21%).

The development of the segment is to be based on organizing and strengthening the group's metallurgical asset portfolio through investments, and on building a value chain – from scrap processing and production of steel semi-finished products, to further processing and use in the production of steel structures.

Huta Częstochowa is to play a key role in this model, as a center for the production of semi-finished products for other plants of the group. Semi-finished products from there are also intended to supply Huta Łabędy in the long products segment and Walcownia Blach Batory in the flat products segment.

Węglokoks assumes an increase in the production of semi-finished products by unlocking the potential of the steel plant, as well as investments in new production capacities at the end of the decade, if it is justified by the market. The company also plans to develop its potential in the processing and supply of scrap as the basic raw material for steel production. (PAP)

th/ mick/