Steel Mills

AHMSA assets to be liquidated; workers call for nationalization

Written by Laura Miller

December 4, 2024

A trustee has taken control of AHMSA to advance the Mexican steelmaker and miner through the liquidation phase of its bankruptcy process.

A bankruptcy court in Mexico certified attorney Victor Manuel Aguilera Gomez as AHMSA’s bankruptcy trustee after his appointment by the Federal Institute of Bankruptcy Specialists (IFECOM).

“The trustee will then, according to legal regulations, take possession of the administration and assets of the company and assume full control over the administrative and financial decisions necessary to advance the liquidation phase,” AHMSA said in a statement on Nov. 28.

The company added that the liquidation phase will have four stages: asset inventory, valuation, call for auction, and asset auction.

The condition of AHMSA’s remaining assets is unclear, as there have been many reports of them being looted and pillaged. The company had not responded to a request for comment as of press time.

AHMSA said in the Nov. 28 statement that the trustee will communicate clearly and promptly throughout the process “so that a solution can be reached in the shortest possible time.”

Workers call for AHMSA’s nationalization

Meanwhile, former AHMSA workers have asked Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to nationalize the company and save the 10,000+ jobs lost by its closure, according to local media reports. The workers also called for the extradition and punishment of former AHMSA president Alonso Ancira.

Workers hand-delivered their request to the president when she visited the area recently. Local media has reported that she is aware of the AHMSA situation and that the federal government is analyzing possible alternatives for the company.

AHMSA’s significant liabilities owed to the federal government are a large deterrent for potential investors, according to Luis Eduardo Olivares Martinez, the secretary of the economy in the state of Coahuila. That’s where AHMSA’s mill is located, in the city of Monclova.

He told Periodico La Voz that AHMSA needs the help of the federal government. The ideal strategy for the near term, he said, is “reducing AHMSA’s debts or generating incentives that make investment in the steel company viable and attractive for new owners.”

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

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