Mr. Rostyslav Shurma, director general of Zaporizhstal, said that Metinvest, an international vertically integrated mining and metal group of companies, could merge Zaporizhstal and Zaporizhkoks, one of the largest producers of coke-chemical goods in Ukraine, in the long term.
Mr. Shurma said that the merger of the two companies was logical, as they operated at one production site and were highly connected from the technological point of view.
He said that “If we look at the structure of Zaporizhkoks, 100% of its coke is shipped to Zaporizhstal, and around 90% of the coke consumed by Zaporizhstal is coke from Zaporizhkoks. It’s a logical and obvious issue to merge Zaporizhstal and Zaporizhkoks”.
He added that at present the issue had not been discussed in detail and no decisions could be made earlier than in six months.
Mr. Shurma said that “I can say with confidence that the enterprises will not merge in the coming year, but in the long-term outlook it’s likely that this will happen. However, this depends on many factors”.
He said that he does not see the necessity to merge the steel mill with another enterprise of Metinvest – Zaporizhvohnetryv, the largest manufacturer of refractory products in Ukraine.
He added that “The refractory business is a separate business, so it’s wrong to unite it with the steel mill, and we won’t do this,” adding that Zaporizhstal and Zaporizhvohnetryv have good, close cooperation: 30% to 35% of Zaporizhvohnetryv’s products are consumed by Zaporizhstal. (SteelGuru)