The Russian steelmaker and iron ore producer Evraz Group (Evraz) has announced that it has signed a long-term contract with Praxair Rus, a subsidiary of Praxair, one of the three largest worldwide industrial gas companies, for the supply of industrial gases to its subsidiary Nizhny Tagil Iron and Steel Works (NTMK) in the Urals, Russia.
Under the terms of the contract, Praxair Rus will build new modern air separation plants on the NTMK site and will supply it with more than 3,000 metric tons of oxygen, nitrogen and argon per day. The new plants are scheduled to commence operation in late 2013 and will replace older air separation plants. As a result, Evraz's NTMK will increase its energy efficiency by more than 30 percent.
"Optimization and efficiency improvement are among Evraz's priorities. Cooperation with Praxair will allow Evraz to focus on its core business and will enhance the reliability of industrial gas supplies to NTMK," Evraz's vice president and head of the Urals division, Dmitry Sotnikov, said.