Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) has launched a project, which allows guests to visit the company’s production site. Several sightseeing tours are now readily available to tourists.
“Taming the Fire” – this tour includes a visit to Russia’s largest blast furnace plant and the unique complex of Mill 5000 whose products are used to supply manufacturers of large diameter pipes, as well as shipbuilding and bridge construction companies.
One can visit the workshops and the plant’s science and technology museum on the “Steel Evolution” tour. The tour gives an insight into the glorious history of the plant, as well as into how the plant runs today. The museum exposition shows the main stages of development of the company, from the first days of construction up to today. In addition to photographs, personal belongings, documents and many other interesting exhibits, the museum offers unique miniatures and scale models of existing factories.
“Dad at Work” is another route, which is designed for children between the age of five and sixteen. The children will take a bus ride and see all the important industrial facilities at MMK. Another sightseeing bus tour for children and teenagers begins with a visit to the MMK Museum, this tour is called “On a Visit to the Metallurgists”.
At MMK, safety is of the utmost importance, and therefore even before getting on the bus, young visitors must put on safety helmets. Before the start of the tour, all guests will also be given an introduction talk with safety instructions. Each visitor is covered with insurance from SOGAZ, the largest insurance company in Russia.
An audio headset will provide guests with information over the background production noise. During the visit to MMK, guests will also be accompanied by a tour guide and will be met in the workshops by a trained specialist who will talk to each group about the technology behind each particular form of production.
On October 16 the first visitors to the “Taming the Fire” tour were a group of students from Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University. After the tour the group met with Pavel Shilyaev, CEO at MMK, who said: “MMK has always sought openness and information transparency. The idea to organize these tours came about as a result of the joint work of our management within the plant and the city administration, whilst we discussed the development of tourist attractions in Magnitogorsk. Within our city there are well-known recreation centers and ski centers, which attract visitors not only from our region, but from Moscow, Ufa and many other cities. What else besides museums, theatres and monuments could attract people to Magnitogorsk? Of course, our plant is one of the largest in the country, and in the world. It is famous and has an impressive history. It is not only a symbol of our Soviet past, but also of the modern transformations taking place in our country. So these guided tours were created for all those people who were interested in the history of our country, and the history of MMK, which is inseparable from it, and for all those who would like to see the scale of metallurgical production in Magnitogorsk with their own eyes. You are the pioneers. Your emotions and impressions are very important to us. You liked it, and this means the route has been well chosen and we are truly happy about this. I thank you for your curiosity, your genuine interest, your positive attitude and your burning eyes. Please share your thoughts and impressions with your parents, tell your friends about the plant. Please come again.”
MMK was not closed to visitors before, last year more than 4,000 people visited the industrial site. However, in general, they were guests who had a link to metallurgic production, for example, suppliers of equipment and raw materials, or consumers of the products. Young residents of Magnitogorsk were also able to see first-hand the legend of national metallurgy, as part of a career guidance program, special attention was dedicated towards tours for young people. Now anyone can take part in one of the captivating tours of MMK included in the new excursion program.
Magnitogorsk is included in the industrial tourism segment of the Federal Ros Tourism Program running from 2019 to 2025. Tours around the MMK site are planned having taken into consideration appropriate levels of safety, entertainment and information. In the future, new tours will be opened at MMK. (MMK/Ukrainian metal)