MMK Expands Production and Marketing of Coated Steel Products
Ivan Radyukevich, Head of Domestic Sales at Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK), said that Russia was the Company’s main market for coated steel products during a presentation at the 18th International Conference “Galvanised and Coated Rolled Steel: Production and Consumption Trends” in Moscow.
In his report, the Company’s manager said that consumption of coated steel in Russia decreased by 13% in 2022, mainly on account of lower consumption of galvanised steel due to a significant decline in the automotive industry. The market avoided an even larger drop thanks to fairly high demand in the construction sector, and demand will be propped up in the near future by infrastructure projects and increased financing from government programmes.
Last year, MMK sold 1.06 million tonnes of galvanised steel in Russia and the CIS from its Magnitogorsk site, 88% of which was delivered to domestic customers (932 thousand tonnes). Coated rolled products from MMK’s Magnitogorsk site had a similar sales breakdown: of the 245 thousand tonnes in sales, a total of 217 thousand tonnes (88%) was sold in Russia. The MMK-Lysvensky Metallurgical Plant (MMK-LMZ, part of MMK Group) sold 208 thousand tonnes of coated steel in the Russian market, including 19 thousand tonnes of rolled products with a decorative coating. Overall, MMK Group’s coated rolled products have an extensive sales geography in the domestic market and are sold in every region of Russia.
MMK Group’s product strategy is aimed at developing and increasing sales of premium products, noted Ivan Radyukevich. In addition to expanding its product line, the Company is focused on increasing its percentage of just-in-time sales and upgrading its logistics system. In order to accomplish these goals, the Company opened its MMK-PLC-Togliatti production and logistics centre last year, with a storage capacity of 150 thousand tonnes, in the Togliatti Special Economic Zone. The centre enables MMK to deliver products to consumers by road within 1-2 days.
Alexey Kuznetsov, Director of MMK-LMZ, also presented the plant’s 2022 results at the conference. Despite the challenging environment, he highlighted the fact that MMK-LMZ had retained its market share and had also begun producing steel with several new coatings. These include a double-sided corrugated coating, a smooth matte coating, a textured polyester coating with increased elasticity (for drainage systems), a textured polyurethane coating, as well as antigraffiti and antibacterial coatings. The plant also continued to produce rolled products with a decorative coating and incorporated five new designs as part of its vintage series. This year, the site plans to start producing SteelArt rolled products with four new designs. According to Alexey Kuznetsov, MMK-LMZ’s development priorities include equipment upgrades to improve product quality.