The Russian steel producer ESTAR Holding (ESTAR) has announced that its Volgograd region-based subsidiary Frolovo Electric Steel Melting Plant (Volga-Fest) has produced its first one million mt of steel since it started its production operations in 2003.
According to the company's press release, Volga-Fest has been showing a steady increase in its output results. In 2006 the plant produced 197,000 mt of square billets, increasing in 2007 by 12 percent year on year to 221,000 mt, and rising by a further 15 percent year on year to 254,000 mt in 2008. Currently, the plant is focusing on increasing its output to a record 270,000 mt per year.
In 2009, Volga-Fest was able to increase its number of smeltings from 16 to 18, and to produce up to 900 mt of steel products daily.
In the first quarter of 2009, Volga-Fest's output of square billets amounted to 46,692 mt.