Ukraine's Donetsk Electrometallurgical Plant (DEMZ), the mini-mill previously known as ISTIL, has announced that in April this year it increased its steel smelting volume by 6.4 times compared to March to 61,000 mt, which is also 2.5 times higher compared to the same period last year.
Accordingly, in April this year DEMZ exceeded its original production target for the month in question which was 50,000 mt of crude steel, and plans in May to start operating at full capacity and to smelt more than 90,000 mt of steel.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, DEMZ restarted its production operations on April 10, after lying idle since March 7 this year.
In the first quarter of 2010, the Russian mining and steel group Mechel received an opportunity granted by the owners and management of DEMZ to influence its sales and operating policies through representation on its board of directors, management and other arrangements. In March 2010, the Mechel entered into a steel product purchase contract with DEMZ on market terms applicable for relevant steel products. Mechel intends to disclose DEMZ as a related party since March 2010, says the Russian group in its 2009 annual report filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
DEMZ, a non-integrated mini-mill, is one of the most modern metallurgical companies in Ukraine with an annual production capacity of more than one million mt of crude steel. Currently, it produces continuous cast square billets which are exported to the foreign markets.