OREANDA-NEWS. October 22, 2012. Ural Steel has held a meeting of bridge builders, structural steel producers and METALLOINVEST.

Within the framework of the meeting, steel suppliers and producers of structural steel have summed up the previous period of joint work with Ural Steel, discussed prospects, issues related to quality and production of hot-rolled steel products and logistics.

Nazim Efendiev, First Deputy CEO of METALLOINVEST, commented at the meeting’s opening: “METALLOINVEST has established relationship with bridge builders, developed over many years of cooperation. Together, we have experienced times of growth, and crises, and periods of stability. After going through all these stages, the plant is now steadily increasing its production of bridge steel. In 2010, these products accounted for 40% of the product mix of rolling mill 2800. Over the first eight months of this year, the share of plates for bridge construction was about 70%.

“We pay great attention to the quality of your order execution,” – emphasised Dmitry Mitrofanov, Managing Director of Ural Steel, – “We have put into operation a vacuum degasser, improved the quality of our plates and slabs. Following these steps, the rejection levels declined from 4-5% to 1.5-2%.”

In addition, Ural Steel is entering the final stage of reconstructing descaling water installations in the first hot-rolling mill, which will be completed during general repairs in October. Consistent work on product quality has attracted a number of regular consumers of bridge steel, and led to a steady increase in production volumes.

“The Chelyabinsk Steel Structures Plant has worked with Ural Steel almost since its foundation,” – said the General Director of Chelyabinsk Steel Structures Plant, Valeriy Vinogradov, – “We produce five thousand tonnes of structural steel, consuming four thousand tonnes of rolled products. We purchase 90% of our required rolled products from Ural Steel, where steel quality is one of the best in the country. We also appreciate that it is good value for money.”

Such meetings have a noticeable impact, allowing bridge steel producers to learn the demands of consumers and present their projects.