MMK's mill 2500 named after Anatoly Starikov
Anatoly Starikov (1941 – 2019) began his career in 1960 at the very same mill, which was put into operation that year. Mr Starikov built his entire career at MMK's sheet-rolling shop No. 4, advancing from Roller Operator to Workshop Manager. He later worked as Chief Distributor, Chief Engineer and Deputy Director of MMK, before going on to serve as CEO of MMK from 1991-1997.
Mr Starikov initiated and coordinated a radical reconstruction of hot-rolling mill 2500. He was the recipient of the Prize of the USSR Council of Ministers and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour and the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland". Mr Starikov was also honoured as Metallurgist of the Russian Federation and was made an honorary citizen of Magnitogorsk.
During Mr Starikov’s leadership of the plant, MMK launched operations at hot-rolling mill 2000, completed construction of a workshop for cleaning and processing coke gas, and closed outdated open-hearth shops as well as blooming mill No. 3. This opened opportunities for MMK to renovate and reconstruct, thereby reducing the plant’s impact on the environment. Mr Starikov simultaneously headed the regional Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, was a member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly for the first assembly of the Chelyabinsk region, and served on the Federation Council’s committee on constitutional legislation and judicial issues.
MMK management and MMK Group’s trade union committee jointly decided that hot-rolling mill 2500 should be named after Mr Starikov in recognition of his personal contribution to improving the plant’s production efficiency through the technical re-equipment and reconstruction of mill 2500, as well as for his outstanding achievements related to MMK's development.
Mr Starikov would have been 79 on the 18th of September. On this day, a memorial plaque was unveiled at sheet-rolling shop No. 4 to mark the renaming of mill 2500 in his honour.
The continuous wide-strip hot-rolling mill 2500 is one of MMK's most productive rolling lines. It has been in operation at the plant since December 1960. The large-scale reconstruction of the existing production facility began in 2007 and was completed this year. The project has significantly expanded the mill's size and brand range, improved product quality and increased its production capacity to 5.2 million tonnes per year. The completely renovated mill 2500 will become a fitting memorial to the outstanding production manager who made an enormous contribution to the development of the city and the plant.