Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works is increasing industrial shipments to foreign carmakers with localised production in Russia. Shipment volumes in this segment increased four times year on year in 2015 as a share of MMK’s total shipments of automotive sheet.
MMK’s serial shipments of galvanised and cold-rolled steel to the Russian operations of foreign carmakers reached 405 thousand tonnes in 2014 and stood at 278 thousand tonnes in the first eight months of 2015. Carmaking is one of the most promising and attractive segments for MMK, and the steelmaker is aiming to strengthen its position and becoming a leading supplier of metals to the industry.
In the next 10 years, MMK aims to become the #1 supplier to the domestic carmaking industry, and also to become a key supplier to the three leading foreign brands in Russia. The company’s Strategy through 2025 notes that MMK aims to achieve this goal by improving its CRM systems, expanding its high-quality product range, developing best-in-class marketing and improving IT infrastructure for clients.
MMK produces more than 50 types of steel to European standards. The chief and most important segment is production of rolled-products with high-quality surface finishing for manufacturing external car parts. During production of these coatings, the key aim is to ensure “ideal” feedstock preparation and putting in place an intelligent production programme. The LPTs-11 cold-rolling facility makes it possible to meet the highest standards of surface quality for both hot-galvanised (Group C) and cold-rolled (Group 1 surface finish) products, ensure tight tolerance of thickness and flatness, apply iron-zinc coatings (galvanealing), passivation and thin organic coatings for corrosion protection. Positive results from consumers using high-quality galvanised products (Group C) indicated that automakers are interested in this product. MMK is ready to consider other product brands and sizes and bring them into production.
MMK’s production capabilities for high-quality rolled products for carmakers, including foreign manufacturers with localised production in Russia, have significantly expanded with the launch of the mill 2000 cold-rolling facility at LPTs-11. The technological abilities of this facility mean MMK can meet the strictest quality standards for cold-rolled and hot-galvanized products, ensure strict thickness tolerance, and apply galvaneal and phosphate coatings to protect against corrosion. MMK was awarded a Russian Governmental science and technology prize for developing and introducing high-quality, cost-effective next generation steel sheet for carmakers.
