Century Aluminum hopes to restart plant this year

Century Aluminum's chief executive says restarting the company's Ravenswood plant is a top priority for 2012, and he hopes to announce that restart before April.

"We hope to get to the finish line on this reasonably soon," Century CEO Michael Bless told shareholders and industry analysts on a conference call Thursday evening.

Century announced its 2011 fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. While the company announced a $31 million loss for that quarter, Bless said recent improvements in the aluminum market outlook and renewed talks with local representatives have created favorable conditions for a Ravenswood restart.

The company shuttered the plant in February 2009, laying off more than 650 workers in the process. The company was Jackson County's second-largest private sector employer, and the continued shutdown has depressed the local economy ever since.

Bless listed the Ravenswood restart, along with company-wide improvements in safety and a renewed push to control power costs, as a top priority for 2012.

"Another major, major effort continuing for this year - certainly for the first two months and we believe going forward - is the complex process whereby we would hope to restart the Ravenswood smelter," Bless told shareholders.

After three years offline, Bless told shareholders he hopes to get the plant up and running later this year.

"We continue to believe this will be a good investment for our share owners, and we're determined to get it done," he said. "We hope to have that positive update for you when we announce earnings in April, if not hopefully sooner."

Bless said company executives are engaged in "detailed discussions" with the three main groups involved in a restart.

He said the No. 1 group is the United Steelworkers Union, which represents active and retired laborers.

His mention of retirees was significant.

Ravenswood retirees have waged a steady campaign for restoration of their health care benefits over the past year. The company eliminated those benefits for retirees last year, a move that saved the company over $18 million in the fourth quarter.

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller has been a vocal advocate for the retirees, and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has said the state would not engage in talks with the company if restoration of retiree benefits was not included.

That has led to a continuing dialogue between the company and retirees. There have been talks in recent weeks about a deal to restore some benefits.