The Russian steel producer Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) has announced that in the first half of this year it increased the share of high value-added products in its overall shipments to 32 percent, as part of its strategy directed towards the maintenance of profitability and meeting demand from Russia and the CIS.
Accordingly, in H1 2010, MMK produced 1.642 million mt of high value-added products - up by 69.6 percent from 968,000 mt in H1 2009, including 556,000 mt of flat cold rolled products, 680,000 mt of downstream steel products, and more than 400,000 mt of thick plates.
MMK said that this increase was possible due to the commissioning in July 2009 of its new rolling mill 5000, which produces thick plates for large diameter pipes, as well as due to its hot dip galvanizing line No. 2 and its polymer coating line No. 2.