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Steel giant Corus is restarting a blast furnace at its Scunthorpe site 13 months after a slump in demand forced it to close.
The Queen Bess furnace is being relit on Monday.
Corus said market conditions remained "extremely challenging" but the restart would allow better customer service and drive down operating costs.
Corus said it had "no immediate plans" to create jobs, but staffing levels were reviewed regularly.
The Queen Bess furnace is one of three operating at the Scunthorpe site. A fourth, Queen Mary, is held in reserve and used when one of the others is renovated.
Site director Sean Lyons said: "The restart of the third blast furnace is positive news, as we are bringing Queen Bess back on line so we can improve customer service.
"But the market outlook for 2010/11 remains extremely challenging for the business. Prices for finished steel products are still below sustainable levels.
"We have said throughout the last 18 months that we will match production levels to demand, and the restarting of Queen Bess will allow us to continue to do that.
"It should not be assumed, however, that we will return to full production soon."
Some 4,000 staff are employed at the Scunthorpe site, compared with 4,500 before the recession.
Queen Bess was shut down in December 2008, alongside one in Port Talbot and one in the Netherlands.
The shutdowns were part of a 30% cut in production due to weakening demand in Europe.