Russia’s NLMK has announced that it has completed assembly of the main process equipment at its continuous casting machine No. 9 (CCM-9), located at its production site in Lipetsk. The facility which is to be launched shortly is expected to expand the company’s steel slab production range and to help strengthen its positions as a seller to premium plate manufacturers.
According to the official statement, NLMK plans to launch the complex to start production at CCM-9, capable of 1.8 million mt output per year, in June this year. With the facility, the company will be able to fully master the manufacturing of the heavy slabs with structural homogeneity, which would be a one-of-a-kind product mix in Russia. The line is designed to produce steel slabs of up to 70 mt per piece, up to 400 mm thick and up to 2,800 mm wide, SteelOrbis has learned. The semis are to be used for processing into thick plates, which can be further used to produce large-diameter steel pipes, wind turbine parts, marine vessels and oil drilling rigs, the official statement reads.
The CCM-9 project is one of the key investments of NLMK within the framework of its Strategy 2022. The cost of the project amounted to RUB 12 billion or around $164 million.
