Alexey Mordashov, chairman of Russian steelmaker Severstal, has announced that he has inked a cooperation agreement with the St. Petersburg government to increase the company’s thick sheet and large-diameter steel pipe production and quality.
According to its statement, the company plans to invest at least RUB 10 billion ($112.6 million) to modernize its Kolpinsky pipe production plant in St. Petersburg over the next five years, creating an additional 150 new jobs. In the meantime, Severstal will improve the quality and increase the output mainly at its rolling mill for pipe production. It will also install a cutting line and a straightening press for thick sheets at its Mill 5000 and will recommission its coating line.
“New projects will increase the production of thick sheets to more than 1 million tons per year at mill 5000. Modernization of the sheet rolling shop will increase the quality and volume of strip production for Russian pipe companies, which will help eliminate the shortage of thick sheets on the market. These projects will also optimize the work of the workshop and allow us to quickly respond to changes in demand for large-diameter pipes,” Mr. Mordashov stated.
The company had completed the modernization of the Mill 5000 at its pipe plant in St. Petersburg last week, as SteelOrbis reported previously.
