Magnitogorsk Rolling Plant launches complex for preparing moulding mixtures

  The Magnitogorsk Rolling Plant is one of the largest enterprises in Russia for the production of sheet and rolled coils made by centrifugal casting. The plant produces about 16 thousand tonnes of products annually. Of these, nine thousand tonnes are used by MMK. NLMK and Severstal are also key clients.

The roll casting technology uses a special moulding mixture which is produced by MZPV. The mixture consists of sand, clay, fire-resistant fillers, binding additives and water. Each of the components is fed into a separate container, the operator sets the necessary parameters fr om the control panel, and the automated system delivers the required amount of ingredients in accordance with the "recipe". They are taken up the conveyor and put in a special container where the mixing takes place. The resulting mixture is unloaded into another container. The plant also includes a laboratory wh ere specialists carefully inspect the product.

During the development stage of the equipment, more advanced mixtures were obtained than those that are produced today at the enterprise – in terms of strength properties, gas permeability and surface cleanliness of the castings obtained from these mixtures.

The production plant for the mixtures is fully automated and meets all the necessary requirements. Its capacity is 250 tonnes per month. Both current market conditions and the Company's planned increase in production to 18,000 tonnes per year indicate that the demand for moulding mixtures will increase.

Thanks to the introduction of the new complex, MZPV can not only reduce the cost of production, but also increase its assortment. Therefore, in the near future, there are plans to start producing large-diameter rolls.

In addition, the development of new products confirms the status of the complex as a socially oriented enterprise. The introduction of the new line created new high-tech jobs with decent salaries and social packages.

In the next three years, within the technical re-equipment programme at the Magnitogorsk Rolling Plant, there are plans to introduce a heat treatment furnace, centrifugal casting machine rolls, milling and boring and rolling and grinding machines.