Severstal has commissioned a new continuous pickling unit at CherMk, which will expand the plant’s steel-producing capacity by 2mn mt annually.
The new line allows Severstal to produce high-quality wide galvanized, hot-rolled coils (HRC) and cold rolled coils (CRC) up to 1,850mm wide. The final stages of testing will allow higher scale production to begin with a full capacity rate of about 166,666mt per month scheduled for the first half of 2021. More than 100,000mt, or 5pc of the total annual production, has been rolled in the test cycle through the past month.
Severstal’s chief executive officer Alexander Shevelev stated that the wide-range rolled products will strengthen the company’s position in hot rolled pickled sheet, cold-rolled, and coated steel. The portfolio of supplies available to customers in the automotive, industrial, and construction segments will increase volumes in metal sales in both the local and foreign markets.
The construction of plant No 4 started in 2019 and was allocated 60pc, or RUB7bn ($96mn), of the investment towards wide-range rolled products. The site included the construction of the continuous pickling unit, modernization in mill No 2, the addition of a hydrochloric acid regeneration unit, reconstruction of a four-stand mill, and a slitting unit.