The Russian steelmaker Severstal Cherepovets, a part of Severstal Russian Steel, has announced that the mill is currently implementing a cost saving program.
The investment program worth Ruble 327 million ($13.2 million) is directed at minimizing production costs mainly through installation of automation systems for regulating raw material levels. The program consists of 43 investment projects, covering the whole production chain.
The first phase of the program, which started at the beginning of 2007, involves 19 different activities. Most of these were implemented at Cherepovets's cold rolling workshop and at its scrap yard. Thus, an automation system for weighing and regulating scrap was installed at continuous picking lines No.1 and No.2. Meanwhile, at the plant's scrap yard, a new scale for scrap weighing was reconstructed. Another project was implemented at the mill's sintering workshop No. 2.
Meanwhile, the second phase of the program, which includes 24 different projects, commenced in the first quarter of 2008. The main components of the second phase are planned to be implemented at the metal charge preparation workshop No.1 at sinter production, at the flat rolling workshop No.1 and also at the cold rolling workshop.