The Russian steel producer Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) has announced that in 2010 it almost doubled its steel product shipments to the domestic car making sector to 406,000 mt, up from 209,000 mt delivered in 2009.
Accordingly, Russia's automotive sector accounted for 5.8 percent of MMK's total domestic sales in 2010. The steelmaker's major customers within the domestic auto segment are the AvtoVAZ, KamAZ and GAZ automobile plants.
In line with its strategic goal to become a key supplier of steel products to the Russian auto industry, MMK is implementing its cold rolling mill 2000 project in Magnitogorsk.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, MMK's mill 2000 will produce high quality cold rolled and galvanized products meeting the needs of the world's leading auto makers and household appliances manufacturers. The first stage of the mill 2000 (including continuous pickling unit linked to the five-stand cold rolling mill) will be commissioned in July of this year. The mill's total capacity will reach two million mt per year.
In addition, the launch of the first stage of the MMK-Intercos service center and stamped components plant (commissioned in St. Petersburg last November) has become yet another milestone on the way towards developing MMK's cooperation with automakers. At present, MMK is implementing the first phase of the second stage of the MMK-Intercos project.