29 January 2019
To enhance its competitiveness Azovstal Iron and Steel Works of Metinvest Group continues to master new production and improve the existing products. New products include slabs 300 mm in thickness adapted to the European and Asian customer needs.
One of the casters in the BOF shop was revamped to cast new products. Additional equipment was purchased and new cooling modes were developed to prevent any cracks or other surface defects on the steel product. The Steelworks has shipped 10,000 tons of such products to its Italian customers – Ferriera Valsider and Metinvest Trametal.
Azovstal has also produced new flat rolled steel that it did not produce before. For example, plates made of ST3sp steel grade and 7 mm in thickness are distinguished not only by its size (over the last years 3600 rolling mill has produced plates with minimum thickness of 8 mm) but they were also enhanced in terms of the requirements for the yield strength to tensile strength ratio. Chemical composition of AH36 plates was also improved, namely the requirements for carbon equivalent became more stringent.
Enver Tskitishvili, general director of Azovstal,
"We are ready to take orders of any complexity – adapt our products to new requirements and revamp our equipment for that purpose. New production is always of interest to our partners. Such trend helps increase capacity utilization in the Steelworks' shops, thus increasing the volume of sales and expanding the international sales market.”
It needs to be noted that 39 new products were added to the product line of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works and Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol in 2018. Most of new products include plates that were not produced before. The updated product mix differs mainly by its compliance with more stringent requirements for mechanical properties and sizes, and by its atypical chemical composition.