About the plant

RUSSIAN STEEL FOR RUSSIAN MACHINES

GMZ set itself the task of becoming a major supplier not only of industrial tools, but also of special-steel long products for the Russian market and for export. A staged modernisation of steelmaking began in 2005. Its closing stage was a mini-mill for continuously cast special-steel billet in 2008 and for light sections in 2009. In 2019 the plant was fully modernised under the project "Development Strategy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region to 2020".

THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY NEEDS QUALITY ROLLED STEEL

The aim of developing GMZ steelmaking is to supply high-quality rolled steel both to the plant's own tool shops and to makers of cars, components and spare parts in the Nizhny Novgorod Region and elsewhere. The great majority of car plants in European Russia, Russian-owned and those of foreign groups, are concentrated here. All of them need metal of a very high quality, including metal made to foreign standards such as EN (European Union), AISI (USA) and JIS (Japan).

Machine builders need dozens and hundreds of sizes of light steel sections: rounds, hexagons, flats and special profiles. This niche of the Russian steel market is still largely open, because integrated mills are set up to supply large lots, from thousands of tonnes, and small runs are simply not worth their while. Imported metal is limited by its high price and by customs duties, which sharply weakens the price competitiveness of Russian manufacturers.

Mini-mills for light sections can help the Russian automotive industry reach a world level. They have what is needed: a small heat size, a low content of harmful impurities, a wide range and flexible production. GMZ decided not to miss this market, and to build its own mini-mill on spare production ground.

THE PROJECT "DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF THE NIZHNY NOVGOROD REGION TO 2020"

Modernisation of steelmaking in 2019 allowed GMZ LLC to build an electric steelmaking shop with a design capacity of up to 250,000 tonnes of high-quality continuously cast billet, and a rolling shop for up to 240,000 tonnes of light sections a year. The shops are fitted with the most modern equipment. Supplies go not only to Nizhny Novgorod, but to other regions of Russia and for export.

Turnkey engineering and delivery of the project were carried out by the German company MAWEK. Equipment was supplied by well-known companies including Danieli (Italy), SMS-Demag (Germany) and INTECO (Austria).

The plant's management regards the project as important for the economy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, because it can supply GAZ, PAZ, ZMZ and other machine-building plants with long products of European quality. It will also process 300,000 tonnes of the 1.2 million tonnes of scrap that leaves the region.

AIMED AT THE WORLD MARKET

The West is, for now, the most stable buyer. The new production was therefore built to international standards. The GMZ steel complex makes ingots that meet EN (European Union), AISI (USA) and JIS (Japan). The European special-steel market is very conservative. The most practical way in is to supply product for resale by established steel companies. GMZ has already signed preliminary agreements with major suppliers of high-quality steels to the European market, including Breitenfeld (Austria), Schmolz&Bickenbach and Salzgitter Mannesmann (Germany).

SOCIAL EFFECT OF THE PROJECT