MMK will increase its hot-dip galvanizing capacity

The Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) and the SMS Group (Germany) signed an agreement for the supply of equipment for a new continuous galvanizing line.

The contract value is over 25 million euros. The annual production capacity of the new equipment will be over 360 thousand tons per year. It is planned that the first rolled galvanized steel will be produced in two years. In accordance with the contract, the German company will not only provide the supply of the necessary equipment, spare parts and technical documentation, but also intend to provide OJSC MMK with programming and training services, and will also prepare the line for commissioning.

The continuous hot-dip galvanizing unit will be erected on the territory of pipe-rolling shop No. 11, where the modern cold-rolling mill 2000 of OJSC MMK is located. The new line will ensure the production of cold-rolled galvanized products for the construction industry. With the commissioning of this equipment, the annual output of MMK's galvanized steel will increase by more than 20 percent. Additionally, 70 jobs will be created for service and technological personnel.

The document was signed by the General Director of OJSC MMK Pavel Shilyaev, member of the CMC Group Council Dieter Rosenthal and Executive Vice President of the CMC Group Meinhard Remberg. In his comments on the signing of this agreement, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC MMK Viktor Rashnikov noted that the new project is significant from the point of view of the policy of import substitution, since the current market for galvanized steel in Russia depends on imports by 25 percent, given that the market capacity is 3.3 million tons, then the import volume reaches 0.8 million tons. This project is also in line with MMK's strategy of increasing value-added products, Rashnikov emphasized.

The chairman of the supervisory board of SMS, Dr. Heinrich Weiss, noted that the new contract continues the 80-year history of mutually beneficial cooperation between his company and the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works.