Press-release

Metal-Expo’2013: Keeping the Market Balance

Metal-Expo’2013, the 19th International Industrial Exhibition was held on November 12-15 in Moscow. 714 companies from 37world countries participated in the exhibition while some 30 000 users of ferrous and non-ferrous products from various industries including construction, heavy engineering, fuel and energy, transportation, logistics, steel trading etc. visited the event. The majority of the participants highly evaluated the efficiency of their participation in the forum expressing intention to exhibit in the next year’s event.

The exhibition and the congress brought together the leading steel companies, tubes and pipes works, wire mesh producers, non-ferrous metals processers, aluminium rolled products and alloys manufacturers, builders, engineers, oil and gas men and many more representatives of the real sector of the economy. The whole range of ferrous and non-ferrous products, the most state-of–the art equipment and technologies were presented at Metal-Expo’2013. To extend the exposition, MetallStroyForum’2013, Exhibition for Steel Products and Structures for Construction, MetallurgMash’2013, Exhibition for Equipment and Technologies for Steel Industry and Metalworking and MetallTransLogistik’2013 Exhibition for Transportation and Logistics for Mining and Metallurgical Complex were held within the framework of Metal-Expo’2013.

During Metal-Expo’2013 steel producers and their partners analyzed the state of things in the market and wrote the scenario of its development. By all accounts, next year the market will not see any sharp changes, prices will not differ much from the current year while demand will retain at the present level. However, due to commissioning of new facilities and possible import growth caused by WTO competition will steepen. Under present conditions market participants focus on stability, keep the balance between the supply & demand and develop cooperation with their major customers.

Leading steel producers and holdings, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, engineers, and the biggest steel traders from Russia and 37 world countries participated in Metal-Expo’2013. Among the biggest stands were MМК, ТМК, Severstal, NLMK, Mechel, UMMC, ChTPZ, KUMZ, OMK, Metinvest-Holding, ArcelorMittal, BMZ, RHI, Ruukki, Dneprospetsstal, OMZ-Spetsstal, VSMPO-AVISMA, Interpipe, Centravis, GMH-Holding, Electrostal Heavy Engineering Works, Uraltrubprom, Asha Steel Works, Krasny Oktyabr, Serov Tubes Works, Tumen Electric Steel Works, Rostov Electric Steel Works, Motovilikha Works, Ruspolymet, Petrostal Steel Works, VOLGAMETCOM, Stal-Techno, Metallservice, Agrisovgaz, TEM-PO, and many more ferrous and non-ferrous producers, tubes & pipes manufacturers and steel products suppliers. Apart from Russia, the biggest expositions were arranged by Europe and China.

Over 4 000 professionals and company leaders were working at their stands during the 4 days of the exhibition. According to independent auditing results top-managers and decision-makers account for 53% of the total number of Metal-Expo visitors. This is one of a few Russian exhibitions visited by company leaders. For example, S. Toropov, Director General, Severstal-Russian Steel Division, N. Lyadov, Sales Director, MMK, S. Shalyaev, Director General, NLMK-Kaluga, V. Tytsky, Director General, Mechel-Stal Management Company, R. Nugumanov, Managing Director, Chelyabinsk Steel Works, Ya. Zhdan, Director General, ChTPZ, V. Oborsky, Director General, TMK Trade House, and many more decision-makers worked on their stands during the exhibition to meet face to face with their customers, find new sales markets, discuss ways of cooperation, and conclude contracts.

To define the circle of suppliers in the Russian, CIS and Baltic States markets TMK, granted its partners 112 dealers certificates during the exhibition. NLMK-Kaluga, the new plant discussed terms of cooperation with long products buyers, while Uraltrubprom presented its new casing tubes facilities. UMMC-Steel presented its Tumen long products facilities, Lysva Steel Works announced a rolling mill building project, while Severstal-Metiz held a conference for its dealers with the participation of some 50 companies from Russia and the CIS. S. Vydrin, Commercial Director, Severstal-Metiz, commented: Such meetings with dealers at Metal-Expo have already become a good tradition for they, on the one hand show our way of cooperation with partners and on the other hand let us get a feed back to strengthen the cooperation for dealers network still remains one of our sales priorities.

Metal-Expo became one of the main platforms for finding consolidated solutions in the steel industry. A tense exhibition program consists of more than 50 events with the key event being a meeting of Coordination Council by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation on development of the Russian steel complex. Steel business representatives and state authorities agreed to create road maps on the most pressing problems including protection of the domestic market from unfair competition and support of steel producers in the international market under WTO conditions. The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation also held a workshop on implementation of the Program on Mastering New Types of Products and Improving Quality of Steel Products for the Automotive Industry for the Period up to 2015. Russian Union of Metal and Steel Suppliers held a meeting for aluminium producers and processers. Among the events also were Russian Metal and Steel Market, Zinc: Corrosion Protection, Steel Industry and Freight Forwarding, Metallurgsnab: Pressing Problems of Supplies in Mining and Metallurgical Complex, Modern Technologies for Non-Ferrous Metals Production and Processing and many more seminars, round tables and presentations covering all the segments of the industry.

To support and promote innovative ideas in the industry Main Event in Russian Steel Industry 2013 Award Ceremony was for the third time held during Metal-Expo. Among the winners were four projects:

NLMK for NLMK-Kaluga Electric Steel Plant (investments reaching 38 bn rubles);
MECHEL for a universal rail and structural steel mill at Chelyabinsk Steel Works, capacity reaching 1.1M tpy (23bn rubles);
TMK for implementation of an investment program on technical modernization of steel-melting and rolling complex at Taganrog Steel Works (32 bn rubles);
UMMC for building a new steel works in Tumen, capacity reaching 550k tpy (23bn rubles).

A number of companies were awarded Metal-Expo Gold and Silver Medals for innovative developments and commissioning of equipment fully complying with the highest modern requirements, while young scientists received monetary grants. Due to employment issue becoming more and more pressing, Metal-Expo becomes a platform for involving young people in the real sector of economy organizing annual summit of high school students called Future is Determined Today. In addition to that winners of a number of contests including Miss Metallurgy, Metal Vision, The Best Corporate Publication, The Best Application of Steel and Aluminium in Construction etc. were awarded at Metal-Expo’2013. Due to all this Metal-Expo’2013 involves new scientific and industrial potential in the Russian economy.

The majority of exhibitors highly evaluated qualitative composition of visitors confirming their intention to participate in the next year’s event. When summing up results of the exhibition, Metal-Expo’2013 exhibitors point out that the exhibition as a business platform provides a good opportunity to exchange forecasts of market development, establish new contacts, increase competitiveness, streamline the workflow, decrease expenses, and work out efficient business models. New business relations and partnership established at the meetings held during the exhibition will be developed throughout the year.

Organizing Committee of Metal-Expo’2013

For reference:

Metal-Expo is a full member of The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) and Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs (RUEF). Every year the exhibition passes an independent auditing. The exhibition is endorsed by The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, The Government of Moscow, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, Russian Union of Metal and Steel Suppliers, The International Union of Metallurgical Equipment Producers, Builders Association of Russia, Russian Builders’ Union, Russian Engineering Union.