History
The history of Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works is inextricably linked with the history of the
whole country. MMK PJSC is the successor of the Soviet metallurgical industry. The company has combined
not only powerful manufacturing enterprises, but also a huge scientific innovation potential.
MMK is an outstanding company in Russian industrial history. It originated as a unique experiment with the whole country taking part.
Dozens of design organisations and hundreds of factories supplied machinery, materials, structures and shock worker teams to this major construction site of the USSR's first five-year plan. It all started with the unique iron ore deposits of the Magnitnaya Mountain…
Timeline
1925-1955
1956-1970
1971-2000
2001-2009
2010-2015
- Th1e design of the Magnitogorsk Works was started in Sverdlovsk (now, Yekaterinburg) in May. The design team was led by S.Zelentsov.
- In September the USSR Geological Committee confirmed, following new surveys, the iron ore reserves in the Magnitnaya Mountain in the quantity of 250 million tons. Later, after more detailed calculations, the reserves proved to total 400 million tons.
- On January 17 the Soviet Government's session took a decision on the start of construction of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. In late January a construction company, Magnitostroi, was set up for the purpose, and S.Zelentsov (see above) was appointed its head.
- On August 18, the first trainload of iron ore was dispatched from the Magnitnaya Mountain. Overall, 22 800 tons of iron ore were shipped during that year.
- On November 22 the first agreement on socialist emulation was signed between the builders of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works and a similar works which was being built in Kuznetsk, Siberia.
- January 1st saw the first issue of the daily Magnitogorsky Rabochy ("Magnitogorsk Worker").
- On February 15, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party set the future capacity of the Magnitogorsk Works at 2.5 million tons of crude steel, to be later increased to 4 million tons.
- On July 1, ground was broken for the construction of the 1stblast furnace.
- On October 23, the Works' central power plant generated first electric current.
- On November 15, on the initiative of the Magnitogorsk Young Communist League organization, a working youth theatre, TRAM, was founded.
- On December 28, the Works' #8 Coke Oven Battery, which was the first to be built, produced coke. During the year dozens of other production and auxiliary facilities were built and prepared for operation. All the nation was waiting for the start-up of the first blast furnace, although the American engineers working at the construction of the Magnitogorsk Works, claimed that a blast furnace cannot be started up in the wintertime.
- On January 15, the Council of Labour and Defense approved a report which acknowledged the first blast furnace of the Magnitogorsk Works ready for start-up.
- On February 1, the # 1 Blast Furnace produced first pig iron. This day marked the beginning of the routine operation of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works.
- June 7 saw the # 2 Blast Furnace, the so-called Komsomolka, yield first pig iron.
- "Magnit", the first sound cinema in Magnitogorsk and one of the first in the Urals, opened its doors to the public on August 26.
- The Magnitogorsk Mining and Metallurgy Institute opened on September 1, followed by the Magnitogorsk Teachers Training Institute on October 1.
- Blast Furnace # 3 produced first pig iron on June 27.
- Open-hearth furnace # 1 was put on stream on July 8.
- On July 27 Blooming Mill # 2 started operation.
- On August 8 the Magnitogorsk Works' first 500 mm section mill was put into service, turning the Works into a fully integrated steel mill and a large supplier of long products.
- On June 22, the Magnitogorsk Municipal Soviet approved a general plan of the city's construction on the right bank of the Ural River.
- The Magnitostroi Construction and Erection Organization was set up on October 1.
- On February 27, a 215-km high-voltage power transmission line linked Magnitogorsk to the city of Zlatoust in the north of the Chelyabinsk Region.
- On March 26, the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet awarded 668 steel-makers with orders and medals.
- An international exhibition opened in New York on April 30, with a mock-up model of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works and specimens of its products on display.
- On June 22 the Works received the first wartime order for armour plate.
- July 23: First armour steel smelted in Open Hearth Furnace # 3.
- July 28: For the first time in world practice, armour plate was rolled on a blooming mill (# 3 blooming mill of the Works).
- November 11: a 4,500 mm armour plate mill evacuated from Mariupol, Ukraine, with the largest capacity in the then USSR, was put into service at the Works.
- April 5: A metalware plant (designed to produce steel fastenings, cables, mesh and other steel articles) was put into operation.
- October 1: the Magnitogorsk Steel Sizing Plant was put into operation.
- November 19: A squadron of warplanes, built with the money donated by the population of Magnitogorsk and thus named "the Magnitogorsk Metallurg", arrived at the Stalingrad Front.
- On January 31 the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet conferred the title of a Hero of the Soviet Union on I.Tarasenko from Magnitogorsk for courage and heroism shown in the battles with the Nazi aggressors. In total, 32 residents of Magnitogorsk received the title during the Great Patriotic War (WW II).
- On September 30 the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet awarded the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works 30 with an Order of Lenin.
- March 17: First performance of the Magnitogorsk Academic Chapel Choir.
- March 31: the Magnitogorsk Works was awarded with an Order of the Red Banner of Labour.
- May 1: the Soviet Government adopted a resolution on intensifying construction of housing and social and cultural infrastructure in Magnitogorsk. It was decided to build the city mainly on the right bank of the Ural River.
- The # 1 Strip Rolling Shop was put into operation in October.
- On December 31, the # 2 Strip Rolling Shop turned out the first cold-rolled strip.
- October 1: a five-stand mill was started up, together with all the other main equipment of the # 3 Strip Rolling Shop.
- December 31: the 2,500 mm Hot Rolling Mill of the # 4 Strip Rolling Shop produced first strip.
- February 12: the Magnitogorsk TV Centre started broadcasting.
- May 28: the 2,500 mm Cold Rolling Mill of the # 5 Strip Rolling Shop produced first cold-rolled strip.
- June 30: The city celebrates its 40th anniversary, boasting a population of 365,000, and a housing space of 2,800,000 square metres. The Magnitogorsk Mining and Metallurgy Institute has a student body of 8,000, and the Teachers' Training Institute, 4,000. The city has 8 colleges, 15 vocational schools, 92 general secondary schools, a drama theatre, a TV centre, a music centre, 18 cultural centres and clubs, and over 100 libraries.
- On Ja1nuary 28 the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet awarded the city with an Order of the Red Banner of Labour for achievements in the fulfillment of the Five-Year Plan in the sphere of industrial production, in particular, steel-making.
- On February 12 the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet awarded the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works with an Order of Lenin for exemplary fulfillment of the task of supplying the national economy with steel products and achieving high technological and economic performance.
- May 1: commissioning of electrolytic tinning, surface preparation, cutting and sorting lines as part of the 1st Stage of the # 6 Strip Rolling Shop.
- June 1: start-up of the 1st Stage of the Cold Forming Shop (#7).
- Commissioning of the 8 bis Coke Oven Battery with an annual capacity of 1 m tons of coke.
- The # 8 Strip Rolling Shop was put into operation in January.
- April 17: first concrete poured into the foundation of the BOF (Basic Oxygen Furnace) Shop.
- MMK switched to full cost accounting and self-financing. Start of construction of the 2,000 mm Hot Strip Mill (Rolling Shop # 10).
- November 2: first steel smelted in the BOF Shop.
- Opening of an ice arena which later took on the name of I.K.Romazan, MMK's General Director in 1985-1991.
- December 31: first 280 tons of BOF steel smelted at the Works.
- The Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works became an open-type joint stock company.
- May 21: with the first strip rolled through the roughing stands of the 2,000 mm Hot Strip Mill, Rolling Shop # 10 started operation.
- October 14: full commissioning of the 2,000 mm mill, with first strip rolled through the finishing stands.
- August 18: ZAO Yuzhuralavtoban was established, a company carrying road construction and repairs in the Chelyabinsk Region and beyond.
- June 15: first rolling mill rolls were cast from steel smelted in a new electric arc furnace (#12) marking the birth of a new rolls manufacturing department which was later to grow into a plant in its own right.
- August: for the first time ever in world practice, armour steel was smelted in a BOF vessel at the Magnitogorsk Works.
- The first stage of a coke gas recovery and treatment plant, the world's largest in terms of the gas volume treatment rate (240 cubic metres per hour), was commissioned in MMK's Coke and Chemical By-Products Division, reducing the discharge of pollutants into the atmosphere by 20,000 tons per year.
- Blast Furnace # 1 was re-commissioned after an overhaul which increased its productivity by 3,000 tons of pig iron per day.
- May 14: commissioning of the 2nd stage of the coke gas recovery and treatment plant, with a fully automated process.
- November 6: start-up of the # 3 converter vessel in the BOF Shop.
- January: ZAO Kompleks Glubokoi Pererabotki was established, an MMK subsidiary company intended to produce road railing, cold-formed sections, gas and water tubes, cold rolled galvanized band and other products.
- March 6: The President Hotel in Moscow hosted the presentation of the first issue of MMK's corporate bonds marking MMK's debut in the securities market.
- A Kocks wire rod mill (300 mm) was put into operation in the Company's Long Products Division.
- On February 1 MMK celebrated its 70th anniversary. On March 12 Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, signed a decree "On the Celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works".
- July 19: start-up of a 1,700 mm tandem reversing cold rolling mill and a continuous hot dip galvanizing line. A water park, Vodopad Chudes, built to the best international standards, opened its doors to the public.
- Start-up of a roll chrome-plating line.
- Start-up of the # 8 turbine generator at the Works' Central Power Plant.
- Start-up of a coal-tar pitch oxidation unit in MMK's Coke and Chemical By-Products Division.
- Start-up of an aspiration unit for Sinter Machines ## 11 and 12.
- July 16: start-up of colour coating line in Rolling Shop # 6.
- Start-up of a continuous billet caster and a furnace ladle in the EAF Shop.
- Commissioning of a continuous pickling line and an acid regeneration unit in Rolling Shop #5.
- Completion of the revamping of the heat treatment section in Rolling Shop #5.
- February 26: smelting of the 500 millionth ton of pig iron.
- July 15: commissioning of the 450 mm and 370 mm long product mills.
- July 15: two turbine generators were put on stream in the Steam and Power Generation Shop.
- December 29: for the first time since its start-up, the BOF Shop produced 10 million tons of crude steel within a calendar year.
- July: official commissioning of an electric arc furnace, furnace ladle unit and continuous billet caster in the building of the former open-hearth furnace shop.
- A 170 mm wire rod was started up in the Long Products Division.
- A slitting line was commissioned in Rolling Shop # 5.
- A twin-position steel ladle heating unit was put into operation in the BOF Shop.
- August: An electrified railway stretch Rudnaya-Kuibas was opened at MMK.
- October 16: the BOF Shop's #3 vessel produced the 100 millionth ton of crude steel since the start-up of the Shop.
- On the #4 Blast Furnace a double-bell charging device was replaced with a bell-less charging device manufactured by Paul Wurth, Luxembourg.
- November: MMK signed a contract with a well-known equipment manufacturer, SMS Demag, Germany, for the construction of a 5,000 mm plate mill and a continuous slab casting machine.
- January: Opening of the city's second ice arena, Arena-Metallurg.
- February 1: MMK celebrated its 75th anniversary. On the eve of the anniversary, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, met with Victor Rashnikov, the Chairman of the MMK Board of Directors.
- April 24: MMK's IPO was launched on the London Stock Exchange.
- July: MMK set up a joint venture with Atakas, Turkey, for the construction of a 2.4 mtpy steel making complex in Turkey.
- Contracts were signed for the delivery of equipment:
- with SMS Demag, Germany, for a new 2 mtpy cold rolling complex;
- with SMS Mevac, for a 2 mtpy continuous caster secondary steel treatment unit;
- with Fata Hunter, Italy, for a new 200 ktpy colour coating line;
- with ZAO NKMZ, Ukraine, for the revamping of the 2,500 mm hot strip mill of the # 4 Rolling Shop, to increase its capacity from 3.9 to 5 mtpy.
- MMK acquired a 75% interest in ZAO Intercos-IV, a Russian manufacturer of dies and stamped parts, with a view to expanding and developing MMK's downstream steel processing business.
- December: A contract was signed for the construction of a coke oven battery.
- MMK's Board of Directors decided to set up a branch of the Company in the Belgorod Region which would take on the project of developing the Prioskol Iron Ore Deposit.
- A ground-breaking ceremony took place in the town of Kolpino, near St.Peresburg, for the construction of a plant to produce stamped parts for car-makers.
- In 2007 MMK reached a record production level of 12.2 million tons of steel products.
- March: MMK formed a strategic alliance with the Russian coal company Belon, and built up its stake in Belon's equity to 41.3 %.
- July:
- The Company's Coating Division commissions a second colour coating line.
- The Company's Oxygen Generation Plant commissions a new, #4 air separation unit.
- A third furnace ladle is started up in the EAF Shop.
- April: A fifth rotary furnace for clinker production is put into operation at the cement and refractories plant which is part of the MMK Group.
- May: MMK goes beyond the mark of 700 million tons of crude steel smelted during the Works' entire history.
- June: MMK acquired a 99.99 % stake in ZAO Profit, Russia' largest scrap collector and processor.
- July:
- The world's largest capacity plate mill (5,000 mm) is brought on stream.
- MMK commissions a second colour coating line.
- MMK hosts a government session chaired by V.Putin, Russian Prime Minister, and dedicated to the issues of the Russian steel sector, with Mr.Putin also taking part in the start-up of MMK's new production facilities.
- MMK's BOF Shop produces 125 millionth ton of crude steel since the start-up of the Shop.
- August:
- the Sosnovsky Mine, forming part of the MMK-owned Bakalsky Rudoupravlenie, starts operations.
- MMK's Long Products Division celebrates its 75th anniversary by producing the 6 millionth ton of long products on newly commissioned section and wire rod mills.
- October: MMK increases its stake in Onarbay Enterprises Ltd. owning 82.6% of the Russian coal producer Belon, from 50% to 100%.
- December: MMK's BOF Shop commissions a new continuous caster (#6) casting slabs for the 5,000 mm Plate Mill.
- February: MMK's BOF Shop commissions a new steel refinement unit.
- March: MMK's Coke and Chemical By-Products Division produces the 400 millionth ton of coke.
- April:
- A hot dip galvanizing line is started up at MMK-Metalurji, Iskenderun, Turkey.
- The Amcom-2 slag processing unit is commissioned at MMK.
- May: The MMK Coating Division produces the 1 millionth ton of colour coated steel since the start-up of the first colour coating line.
- July:
- The Magnitogorsk MMK-Metiz Metalware and Sizing Plant (MMK's subsidiary), as part of a large-scale effort to modernize its steel wire and rope operations, commissions a number of production facilities dedicated to the Steel-Makers' Day.
- Also in time for the Steel-Makers' Day, MMK's Rolling Shop #4 starts up a new cutting line (#5).
- A new hospital is opened in the city's newer 144th microdistrict as part of the health care complex co-funded by MMK and the city.
- A new entertainment centre, NON-STOP, opens its doors at the MMK-owned Abzakovo ski and holiday resort.
- September: First million tons of plate rolled on the 5,000 mm Plate Mill.
- October: Commissioning of MMK-Metalurji's cold rolling complex in Iskenderun, Turkey.
- November: ZAO Intercos-IV, an MMK Group company, in the presence of Vladimir Putin, Chairman of the Russian Government, and Valentina Matvienko, Governor of St.Petersburg, commissions the 1st stage of the Stamping Plant and Steel Service Centre near St.Petersburg.
- February:
- OJSC MMK's collective bargain was signed for 2011-2013.
- Victor Rashnikov, Chairman of OJSC MMK's Board of Directors, won the international "Personality of the Year" prize in the category "Businessman of the Year".
- March:
- OJSC MMK signed an agreement on the acquisition of 50% plus one share in MMK Atakas, Turkey. The Iskenderun plant commissioned an EAF steel smelting shop.
- MMK was visited by President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and became the venue of a meeting of the President's National Modernization Commission dedicated to occupational training.
- April: Chairman of OJSC MMK's Board of Directors Victor Rashnikov was re-elected to lead the Chelyabinsk Regional Organization of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
- May:
- MMK's Annual General Shareholder's Meeting adopted the regulations on the new sole executive body (General Director) of the Company. Boris Dubrovsky was elected as the new General Director (CEO) of MMK.
- The Inskenderun plant of MMK-Metallurji (former MMK Atakas) produced the first 3,000 tons of hot rolled steel, while the Istanbul plant of the company commissioned a colour coating line.
- The Magnitogorsk Cement and Refractories Plant produced the 65 millionth ton of cement since the start of production.
- June: A meeting of MMK's workers passed a resolution on joining the All-Russian People's Front political movement.
- July: The first Stage of the new cold rolling mill complex (2,000 mm Mill) went on stream. The launching ceremony was attended by V.Putin, Chairman of the Russian Government.
- November: The 2,000 mm Cold Rolling Mill won the title of "the Event of 2011 in the Russian Steel Sector" at the International Metal-Expo Exhibition in Moscow. Besides, the 2,000 mm Mill was included in the list of the Urals Federal District Priority Modernization Projects.
- December: The diagnostic centre of the Medical Unit jointly sponsored by MMK and the city put into service a state-of-the-art MRT supplied by General Electric.
- January:
- MMK was recognized as the leader in supplies of flat steel products in Russia (according to Metallosnabzhenie y Sbyt magazine).
- MMK updated its e-auction platform.
- February:
- On 1 February MMK celebrated its 80th anniversary. Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, sent his congratulations to the employees and veterans of the Company.
- MMK won the All-Russian Competition "Best Russian Enterprises. Growth, Performance and Responsibility" in the category "Social Programs for Employees and Maternity Support".
- March:
- MMK's Steel Smelting Divison reached new production milestones: the Company's Electric Furnace Shop smelted its 10-millionth ton of steel, while the BOF Division reached the mark of 150 m tons produced since the launch of the 1st BOF converter.
- April:
- The Company's CEO, Boris Dubrovsky, was awarded the Order of Honour by decree of the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
- MMK received approval from UN for another two joint implementation projects within the Kyoto Protocol framework.
- May: OJSC MMK's annual general shareholders' meeting was held on 25 May 2012.
- June:
- MMK signed a long-term contract (up to 2022) with LLC NOVATEK-Chelyabinsk for natural gas supply.
- MMK won three gold and two silver medals at the 23rd International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition in Malaysia (ITEX '12) for its developments.
- July:
- The Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the commissioning of the 2nd stage of the 2,000 mm Cold Rolling Complex at MMK.
- MMK produced the 650 millionth ton of sinter.
- MMK won in the steel sector's High Social Responsibility Competition in the category of environment protection and power-saving.
- September:
- MMK became one of the winners of the All-Russian State and Municipal Purchasing Leaders Competition.
- MMK produced the 600-millionth ton of hot rolled steel in the Company's history.
- MMK had its ship-building steel production process approved by the renowned certification society Bureau Veritas, France.
- October:
- MMK managers were recognized as the best corporate governance professionals in Russia according to the ratings of the 2012 Director of the Year Prize panel.
- November:
- As part of the International Metals Week in Moscow MMK won a gold and a silver medal at the Metall Expo 2012 specialized international exhibition and a prize for the 2012 Chief Event in the Russian Steel Sector.
- December:
- On 29 December 2012 the Company held an extraordinary general shareholders' meeting which decided to pay dividends for the nine months of the 2012 financial year.
- MMK won several medals at the 8th SIIF 2012 International Inventions Exhibition.
- January:
- MMK was recognized as the leader in supplies of flat steel products in Russia (according to Metallosnabzhenie y Sbyt magazine).
- February:
- On 1 February MMK celebrated its 81st anniversary.
- MMK's Rolling Shop # 4 started hot tests of two reheating furnaces built as part of the shop's overhaul program.
