Metal-Expo’2015: Russian Steel Industry Progresses
Metal-Expo’2015, the 21st International Industrial Exhibition was held on November 10—13, 2015 in Moscow, Russia. 570 companies from 34 world countries participated in the event while some 27 thousand steel industry professionals visited the exhibition. According to many exhibitors and visitors Metal-Expo’2015 was business-focused. Those days steel end-users and traders had a good opportunity to meet with top-managers and professionals of leading steel and heavy-engineering companies to discuss ways of cooperation and issues of materials and rolled stock supplies. Almost all the exhibitors consider their participation in the event as highly efficient in terms of finding new customers and concluding new contracts.
Among the exhibitors were leading ferrous companies, tubes and wire mesh producers, non-ferrous metals processers, aluminium rolled products and alloys manufacturers, transportation and logistics companies, steel traders, engineering companies, developers of IT solutions for steel industry and heavy engineering, as well as producers of state-of-the-art equipment, heavy-engineering companies and steel service centers. MetallStroyForum’2015, Exhibition for Steel Products and Steel Structures for Construction, MetallurgMash’2015, Exhibition for Equipment and Technologies for Steel Industry and Metalworking, and MetallTransLogistik’2015, Exhibition for Transportation and Logistics for Mining and Metallurgical Complex formed part of Metal-Expo exposition.
Mass expositions were arranged by MMK, TMK, Severstal, EVRAZ, Mechel, OMK, NLMK, ChelPipe, OMZ-Special Steels, Electrostal Metallurgical Plant, Lysva Metallurgical Company, UMMC-Steel, Ashinskiy Metallurgical Works, Krasniy Oktyabr Combine, MMK-METIZ, Severtal-Metiz, Uraltrubprom, Pipe Coating Plant, Korolyov Tube-Rolling Mill, Motovilikha Plants Corporation, TEM-PO, Ruspolymet, Sibpromkomplekt and many more manufacturers and suppliers of steel products and tubes. Among non-ferrous producers were: Kamensk Uralsky Metallurgical Works, CMK, VSMPO-AVISMA, Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant, UMMC-OCM enterprises, Kamensk-Uralsky Non-Ferrous Metal Working Plant, Artyomovsk Non-Ferrous Metals Processing Plant and many more. Among the leading steel suppliers were EVRAZ Metall Inprom, A-Grupp, Metallinvest, Kontinental, Globus-Steel, Lider-M, Protek, UTM-Steel etc.
Along with national companies Metal-Expo’2015 also exhibited more than 200 international companies from 34 world countries. The top 4 biggest international expositions were Chinese (51 exhibitors), German (32), Italian (30) and Ukrainian (14). Among the leading international steel producers were ArcelorMittal, SSAB, Metinvest, BSW, Ansteel, Dneprospetsstal, Aktobe Rail and Section Works and many more. International equipment and materials suppliers’ exposition exhibited SMS group, Danieli, GMH-Holding, WISDRI, Terex-Fuchs, Liebherr, RHI, Hempel and many more.
Despite the downturn of the national economy, many new contracts were signed at the exhibition. According to a source in a European heavy-engineering company, economic crisis is the best time to buy equipment.
Thus, Severstal and ChelPipe prolonged until 2020 the cooperation agreement on timely supplies of power engineering companies with high-quality ChelPipe products of Severstal steels. The agreement was signed by S. Toropov, General Manager, Severstal Russian Steel and A. Grubman, General Manager, ChelPipe. Lysva Metallurgical Company signed an agreement with BestLines and Metallurg PK on supplies of more than 4.5kt of SteelArt polymer coated sheets; NLMK concluded an agreement with Korolyov Tube-Rolling Mill; Kraft Group, a newcomer at Metal-Expo signed contracts for supplies of 2.5kt of rolled products etc.
A number of companies presented their innovative projects at Metal-Expo’2015. Winners of The Main Event in the National Steel Industry’2015 contest focused on support and popularization of innovative projects were awarded at the gala dinner for Metal-Expo’2015 exhibitors. By the decision of The Metal-Expo Organizing Committee the winners became:
- Eterno, a joint venture of ChelPipe and Rosnano;
- Zagorsk Pipes Works;
- TEM-PO, Kamsk Mini-Mill.
The three projects are planned to commission before the end of 2015. Each project focuses on one of the industry segments. Thus, Eterno, a joint venture of ChelPipe and Rosnano focuses on manufacture of pipelines joints with the application of nano-structural materials; Zagorsk Pipes Works with the annual capacity of up to 500kt of 530—1420mm pipes is equipped with the most state-of-the-art production lines by international manufacturers. The implementation of the whole project from the beginning of construction to the manufacture of the first batch of pipes has taken only 16 months. Kamsk Mini-Mill is located on Tatelektromash facilities which also include TEM-PO, Naberezhnye Chelny Pipes Mill, a steel structures plant, cutting aggregates as well as polymer coating lines.
New facilities are commissioned in the Russian steel industry. At Metal-Expo’2015 S. Toropov, General Manager, Severstal Russian Steel announced a new investment project: building a second ladle-furnace aggregate at Cherepovets Steel Works. Steel facilities commissioned in 2014—2015 (StavStal, Aktobe Rail and Section Works etc.) were also among Metal-Expo’2015 exhibitors.
Russian Metal and Steel Market, the 18th International Conference was held prior to Metal-Expo’2015. The event brought together more than 180 steel industry professionals, experts, analysts, and governmental officials to discuss the latest trends in the Russian and international steel markets, sum up economic results of 2015 and outline prospects of 2016. The conference ended up with the awarding of winners of annual contests for The Best Russian Steel Stock’2015, The Best Russian Steel Service Center’2015, and The Best Russian Sales Network’2015.
More than 40 conferences, seminars, and roundtables on the most pressing problems of all the steel industry segments were held during Metal-Expo’2015. Thus, The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation held a workshop on the national steel complex development. It was decided to hold such workshops twice a year: one at Metal-Expo and one at SteelStructures International Specialized Exhibition which along with steel structures producers will exhibit a wide array of equipment manufacturers and solutions suppliers. The exhibition will be held on June 6—9, 2016 in Moscow.
Steel Construction Development Association and Metal-Expo held a roundtable for steel structures manufacturers on November 12. The event brought together more than 20 company leaders to discuss the state of things in the national steel structures market and the program of the forthcoming SteelStructures’2016 exhibition. At the roundtable the participants decided to hold a national contest during SteelStructures’2016 for the best implemented project with the application of steels and aluminium in construction.
At Metal-Expo’2015 the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation held a workshop on implementation of the program on mastering new types and improving quality of existing products for the automotive industry. Issues of import substitution of hot-stamped steel sheets and special steels products were discussed among other most pressing problems of the industry.
Among other events held during the exhibition were: a meeting of more than 40 sandwich-panels manufacturers organized by The Russian Union of Metal and Steel Suppliers, a roundtable Steel Quality or Profit? Fundamentals of the Roofing Market organized by The National Roofing Union, The Russian Union of Metal and Steel Suppliers, and Metal Master and endorsed by Metal Supply and Sales journal. Among the delegates were manufacturers of flats with polymer coatings including Severstal, NLMK, MMK Trade House, Ruukki, Lysva Metallurgical Company as well as metal tiles manufacturers and roofing companies.
More than 30 company leaders and industry professionals participated in a meeting of producers and suppliers of copper, brass and bronze rolled products. Since there is no official union of such manufacturers and suppliers in Russia to represent their interest in the governmental authorities, the delegates decided to exchange proposals on establishing such a union in the near future.
The Russian Union of Metal and Steel Suppliers (RUMSS) held a meeting of more than 80 manufacturers and suppliers of aluminium and its products including Aluminium Products, KUMZ, KraMZ, Aluminium Metallurg Rus, Alunext, VMK Invest, MAK, Alutech, Alpha-Metal, Most-1 etc. For a number of years RUMSS has been implementing a program on stimulating aluminium consumption in Russia focused on its use in construction, transportation, the automotive industry, home appliances manufacture, packaging etc. The delegates agreed that a bigger number of aluminium and its products (alloys, rolled products, profiles etc.) manufacturers and end-users should be involved the program.
Much attention at the exhibition was paid to scientific and technical development of the industry. Thus, New Advanced Materials, Equipment and Technologies, the 14th Scientific and Practical Conference was held at Metal-Expo’2015, 49 winners of the contest for The Best Solutions for the Steel Industry were awarded Metal-Expo gold and silver medals; winners of the contest for The Best Scientific Publication in the Steel Industry were also awarded during the event.
For the 6th time Metal-Expo Organizing Committee awarded young scientists winners of Young Scientists’2015 contest with monetary grants. At the awarding ceremony the biggest Russian scientists in the steel and steel-related industries encouraged young students and praised their works wishing them success in the future.
Modern Communications for the Promotion of Steel Products, a roundtable for marketing professionals of steel companies and Corporate Communications in the Russian and the CIS Steel Industries, conference were also held during Metal-Expo’2015. The events ended up with awarding winners of the contest for the best corporate publications in the steel industry.
The majority of Metal-Expo’2015 exhibitors applied for the participation in the next year’s event commenting that Metal-Expo is the best platform for establishing business contacts with steel producers and end-users, finding solutions for the most pressing problems of the industry and concluding contracts.
Metal-Expo’2015 Organizing Committee
