Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) sold a record amount of galvanized steel in 2018 – around 1.3 million tons. MMK’s share in the product’s consumption in Russia amounts to 34%.
According to the Senior Manager of MMK’s Coated Products Sales, Vadim Dorofeev, who spoke at the 14th International Conference “Galvanized and painted steel – production and consumption trends”, MMK remains the largest supplier of galvanized steel in Russia with total sales amounting to 1.269 million tons at the end of last year, a record number for the plant. At the same time, the sales to export destinations and to CIS countries are gradually increasing. Nevertheless, the company continues following its sales strategy aimed at the Russian market, which accounts for 80% of sales. In 2018, MMK sales to the Russian market amounted to 1.08 million tons. The main consumers of MMK’s galvanized steel are the construction sector (64%) and the automotive industry (26%).
MMK also remains one of the largest players on the polymer-coated steel market. In 2018, the company sold 559,000 tons of the products, of which 90% (500,000 tons) were shipped to the domestic market. The merger of the Lysvensky Metallurgical Plant (LMP) into MMK Group enabled MMK to achieve a significant increase in sales – by over 27%. Thus, MMK Group’s production and supply of polymer-coated steel now takes place at two different production sites. In 2018, 270,000 tons of polymer-coated steel were shipped to the Russian market from the MMK site and 231,000 tons from the MMK-LMP site. These products are mainly used by the construction industry. Polymer-coated steel is profiled and used as a semi-finished rolled product for the manufacturing of metal roofing tiles (22%), profiled sheeting (56%) and sandwich panels (7%).
MMK Group produces a wide range of polymer-coated steel – from basic products to premium types of polymer-coated steel – and LMP’s facilities enable MMK to sell this polymer-coated steel to all sectors of the market, manufactured under the brand name SteelArt and Moire. Currently, the niche for premium types of polymer-coated steel is at the initial stage its development and has high growth potential.
In particular, SteelArt, a relatively new product for the Russian market, is a metal with a three-layer polymer coating, which accurately reproduces the texture of natural materials such as stone, wood, brick and others, as well as being much cheaper and easier to install. This product has a number of competitive advantages relating to the base segment of coated steel. These include increased corrosion resistance, significant resistance to mechanical damage, it provides a wider variety of the choice of metal base, it is highly environmentally friendly, and preserves its decorative properties for a long-time with a warranty of 20-25 years. Such products are in line with the best international standards both in terms of quality and environmental performance. SteelArt has a wide variety of uses. Examples include external and internal finishing for buildings and rooms, the production of external decorations for household appliances and many others.
According to Vadim Dorofeev, in 2019, MMK is aiming to maintain 100% capacity utilization rate and fully meet the needs of its customers through the production of a wide range of high-quality steel products that meet all the demands of the modern market. In order to prevent possible falsification, MMK will continue to improve its product labeling. It will also work with technical institutions specializing in the development and editing of normative documents regulating production of coated steel. In addition, MMK intends to continue developing its production system “just-in-time” in conjunction with its introduction of electronic services for customers. Development in these areas will increase the competitiveness of the plant in terms of a greater capacity on the market. (MMK/Ukrainian metal)
