Russia’s PNTZ to commission new electro-smelting facility in Q4 2010

Pervouralsky Novotrubny Works (PNTZ), a subsidiary of one of the largest Russian pipe producers, ChTPZ Group, plans to commission its new electro-smelting facility in the fourth quarter of 2010. 
 
As SteelOrbis previously reported, the construction of PNTZ's 950,000 mt capacity new electro-smelting facility was started in 2007, and will allow ChTPZ Group to achieve vertical integration in the seamless pipe segment, making it almost self-sufficient in high-quality billets for seamless pipe production. Currently, PNTZ is continuing the installation of the main equipment, which is supplied by German plantmaker SMS Demag.
 
At the beginning of the current month, PNTZ secured  five-year credit lines in the amount of Ruble 10 billion (about $330 million) from Russia's largest state-owned bank Sberbank, the main part of which, i.e., Ruble 8 billion (about $264 million), will be used to complete the construction of its electro-smelting facility.