Mechel OAO announced that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin launched a high-quality and stainless steel production complex in the arc-furnace melting shop #6 of Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant (CMP).
Putin was accompanied by Igor Sechin, Vice Prime Minister; Victor Khristenko, Minister of Industry and Trade; Nikolay Vinnichenko, the Plenipotentiary of the President of Russian Federation in Ural Federal Region; Mikhail Yurevich, Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region; Igor Zyuzin, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mechel OAO; Andrei Deineko, Chief Executive Officer of Mechel Steel Management OOO; and Sergey Malyshev, Managing Director of CMP.
The Russian Prime Minister’s introduction to the plant started with a presentation of CMP and the renovation project for the arc-furnace melting shop #6, which includes the just-commissioned complex. CMP’s Malyshev described investment programs being implemented at the plant as well as CMP’s capacities utilization level, which he said currently exceeds pre-crisis levels by 10%.
Putin then pushed the start button of the high quality and stainless steel production complex. Mechel’s management described the production process of the ladle furnace #2 and vacuum degasser, as well as the “main machine” of the complex—the slab concaster #2 that just produced its first slab.
Mechel says that the new complex will improve the quality of casted steel, boost annual output of slabs from 600,000 tonnes to 1.2 million tonnes, significantly expand product range, and decrease consumption of raw materials and power. The company also notes that the new equipment will allow CMP to increase output of plates and coils of corrosion-resistant steel grades, enabling it to compete in quality with the products of the leading European producers, after reconstruction of the plant’s rolling facilities.
Investments in the project totaled 3.6 billion rubles.
“Implementation of this project would allow CMP to start production of new types of stainless flat long products used in the most important industries of our country such as defense, transport machinery, construction,” said Zyuzin. “At the present moment, these products are not manufactured by Russian metallurgical plants. Thus, commissioning of this new complex would result in the decrease in the share of the imported products and complete elimination of import in a number of product groups.”
Mechel is one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies. Its business includes four segments: mining, steel, ferroalloy, and power. The company unites producers of coal, iron ore concentrate, nickel, steel, ferrochrome, ferrosilicon, rolled products, hardware, heat and electric power. Its products are marketed domestically and internationally.