Russian steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) has announced that Vtorchermet NLMK, the scrap processing unit of NLMK Long Products and one of the largest scrap collectors in Russia, set up 18 new scrap metal processing sites in various regions across Russia in 2011.
In 2011, Vtorchermet NLMK purchased 22 handling machines and 88 vehicles for process needs, while it also assembled and commissioned three shearing presses as a part of its technical upgrade program. Vtorchermet NLMK's largest investment project is a new scrap processing site in Podolsk. A shredder will be launched at the Podolsk site at the end of the year.
Last year, Vtorchermet NLMK shipped 3.3 million mt of ferrous scrap, up four percent year on year. In-house scrap collection increased by 18 percent year on year to 2.7 million mt. NLMK Group's self-sufficiency in scrap increased from 71 percent to 81 percent year on year. By 2016, this rate is expected to reach 86 percent even considering the projected 40 percent increase in NLMK's steelmaking capacities in 2011-2013, while larger in-house scrap collection volumes should bring Vtorchermet NLMK's share of the Russian scrap market to 25 percent.