OREANDA-NEWS. Metinvest Group's Ilyich Iron & Steel Works of Mariupol workers increased the effectiveness of raw materials used for open-hearth smelting, resulting in annual savings of UAH 500,000.

Open-hearth smelting uses ferroalloys and other pure metals as oxidizers and alloy additives, including granulated aluminum. In the past, open-hearth workers used only secondary aluminum ingots to make granulated aluminum, the production of which was expensive.

Plant workers themselves initiated the idea of replacing the use of instead secondary aluminum ingots with aluminum scrap, which is generated by many subdivisions of the enterprise. Today, one heat requires 25-30% aluminum scrap. In the second quarter of 2013, savings as a result of the initiative amounted to UAH 130,000.

“Reducing the cost of production by using secondary resources increases our competitiveness and promotes metal products on the market,” said Yuriy Zinchenko, Ilyich Iron & Steel Works of Mariupol's general director. “We engage internal resources and support the initiatives of plant workers to increase production efficiency.”