NLMK Kaluga shifts production from rebar to sections during winter

NLMK Kaluga, a subsidiary of Russian steelmaker NLMK Group and producer of long steel products for construction, is shifting its production from rebar to sections since rebar demand declines 20 percent during the winter period, NLMK Kaluga CEO Sergey Shalyaev has stated. The Kaluga plant plans to produce 70,000 mt of sections next year.
 
NLMK Kaluga supplies to both the domestic and export markets. Mr. Shalyaev stated that, due to the depreciation of the Russian currency against the US dollar, exports will become attractive again and the plant will return to exports.
 
Before the launch of NLMK Kaluga in July 2013, rebar demand from the Moscow region, which is the largest construction market in Russia, constituted 40 percent of overall Russian rebar demand, while rebar production in the region was eight percent of overall Russian rebar output. The NLMK Kaluga CEO said that with the Kaluga plant rebar production in the Moscow region has increased, though the rebar shortage in the region still exists.