Steel Industry to Usher New Investment Cycle
Metal-Expo’2018, the 24th International Industrial Exhibition (November 13-16. 2018, Hall 75, VDNHa, Moscow, Russia) showed the latest trends of the year including entering into a new cycle of global investments and a digital transformation of the steel industry. 560 leading steel companies from 32 world countries accounting for 10% of the global steel output attended Metal-Expo’2018 while around 30k steel industry professionals from more than 60 world countries and 300 Russian cities visited the event.
Leading Russian steel and engineering companies as well as steel products manufacturers (steel structures incl.) exhibited the latest solutions on November 13-16, at VDNHa Fairgrounds, Moscow Russia. Among them: MMK, TMK, Severstal, Mechel, OMK, NLMK, EVRAZ, Metalloinvest, UMMC, ChelPipe Group, Electrostal Steel Works, Red October, Volgograd Steel Works, Abinsk Electric Steel Works, IMH, TEMPO, Ruspolymet, KUMZ, Aluminium Metallurg Rus, OMZ Group, VSMPO-AVISMA, EZTM, Weber CoMechanics, VI-MENS, KAMI, Reltec, Litmashpribor and many more.
Every year Metal-Expo regular exhibitors expand their spaces growing in the number of not only professional stand attendants, but also company leaders and top management: the number of stand attendants of major steel producers reaches 60—80 professionals headed up by General Managers, Heads of Sales, Chief Engineers, and Heads of Supply Depts. Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works leads in the number of delegates: 125 top-managers and heads of divisions attended at the MMK stand at Metal-Expo’2018. The total of more than 4k industry professionals (company leaders incl.) attended at all the Metal-Expo’2018 stands among them Mr. Pavel Shilyaev, General Manager, MMK, Mr. Andrey Varichev, General Manager, METALLOINVEST Managing Company, Mr. Alexander Shiryaev, General Manager, TMK, Mr. Ilya Guschin, Vice-President for Sales, NLMK Group, Mr. Boris Kovalenkov, General Manager, ChelPipe Group, Mr. Evgeny Chernyakov, Head of Sales, Severstal, Mr. Victor Kamelin, General Manager, Beloretsk Steel Works, Mr. Maxim Klochay, General Manager, Ruspolyment and many more.
A number of cooperation agreements were signed at the exhibition including an agreement on joint supplies to Rosatom between OMK and Belenergomash-BZEM. Mr. Edward Stepantsov, Head of Commercial Dept., OMK commented: “It is a perfect platform to meet with partners, share achievements and investment projects, strengthen cooperation with partners, the whole business community and equipment manufacturers. It is very convenient to make appointments in terms of time management for the exhibition is attended by the cream of the national steel industry”.
A distinctive feature of Metal-Expo’2018 is its ushering a new investment cycle: a number of Russian leading steel companies presented their new large-scale investment projects focused on modernization of facilities, engineering and promoting new types of steel products, and increasing competitiveness in the domestic and global markets. Thus, OMK implements a number of large-scales projects in the power engineering industry, besides Metalloinvest, EVRAZ, MMK, Severstal, NLMK, Ruspolymet, Abinsk Electric Steel Works and many more also planned massive investments in various projects. The Russian steel industry faces a new investment boom with Metal-Expo as its channel of promotion contemporary solutions. The winners of The Main Event in the Russian Steel Industry’2018 contest focused on support and popularization of innovative projects became:
- EVRAZ and NTMK project on engineering and building of blast furnace plant #7, annual capacity: 2.5Mt of pig iron;
- Uralelectromed project on commissioning of the second line of copper electrolyze plant, annual capacity: 160kt of copper cathodes;
- UMMC-OCM project on modernization of rolling facilities of Revda and Kirov Non-Ferrous Metals Processing Plants.
Digitalization of the steel industry is another emerging trend. Implementation of various tools and solutions based on IT technologies help steel companies optimize processes management, industrial safety, labor resources, and financial flows, while application of IT commerce help sell steel products online. Thus, NLMK Group, Severstal, TMK, OMK, ChelPipe etc. promoted their online platforms at Metal-Expo’2018.
“Metal-Expo is a good platform to meet sales and purchase decision-makers. Despite the sanctions 240 Asian and European steel companies attended Metal-Expo’2018, among them: ArcelorMittal, SSAB, Metinvest, BSW - Management Company of BMC Holding, Dneprospetsstal, SMS group, Ficep, Metalforme, Fagor, Voortman, MAIR Research, Liebherr, Terex Fuchs, LDM, Bronx International, Bradbury, HWS Sinto, Kwintmadi, Dango & Dienenthal, Olimpia 80, Gertner Group, Glama, CFHI, Vernet Behringer, Guss-Ex, S.M.A.C., Danieli, Dneprotyazhmash, NKMZ and many more.
A tense business program of the main steel industry forum included more than 50 events on the most pressing problems of the industry: use of new materials and machinery in the ferrous and non-ferrous industries, galvanizing, secondary resources, standardization of reinforcing products, galvanized and pre-coated rolled products market, steel structures, wire-mesh products, marketing, IT-solutions, corporate communications etc. Chief metallurgists of Russian steel companies met at Metal-Expo platform for the first time to establish Chief Metallurgists’ Council and discuss the most pressing issues of various industry segments. Russian Metal and Steel Market, the 21st International Conference opened the program of the Metal Week in Moscow. The conference brought together more than 140 delegates: officials, general managers of leading steel and engineering companies, heads of sales, experts and analysts etc. The event included awarding winners of annual contests The Best Russian Warehouse, Steel Service Center and Sales Network.
At numerous events held during Metal-Expo’2018 the delegates discussed general Russian and global market trends, assessed interim results of 2018, and shared their views on the industry development in 2019. Thus, a meeting of Coordination Council for the National Steel Complex Development headed by Mr. Victor Evtukhov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation was held during Metal-Expo’2018. The meeting brought together steel company leaders and heads of industrial unions and institutions to discuss and find possible solutions to today’ problems of ferrous and non-ferrous producers. A workshop on mastering new types of steel products for the automotive industry was also held during the exhibition.
Since mid November is a good time to assess interim production results of the year a number of companies (NLMK, Metalloinvest, TMK, EVRAZ, Severstal-Metiz etc.) held meetings with their dealers and customers to make cooperation plans for the forthcoming year. A high concentration of subcontractors on one platform allows to efficiently negotiate saving a lot of time and resources.
Winners of special contests were awarded during the exhibition. The most significant achievements in ferrous and non-ferrous industries and engineering were awarded Metal-Expo’2018 Gold and Silver Medals. 47 applications detailing 2017-2018 projects on modernizations of existing facilities, implementations of new solutions and using new types of products and machinery were submitted to the committee. Among the applicants were NLMK, MMK, EVRAZ, Severstal, Mechel, Abinsk Electric Steel Works and many more.
Future is Planned Today, a summit of students and post-graduates of technical institutes was held during Metal-Expo’2018 to award a few winners among 50 applicants of Young Scientists contest. Winners of Metal-Vision’2018 contest for the best video about Russian and the CIS steel companies, winners of the contest among industrial media, and contest for the best internet project in the steel industry and steel trading were also awarded during the exhibition. Industrial media projects become more significant in the Industry 4.0 era of total industrial digitalization.
Experts believe that despite growing popularity of internet communications sales will not fully enter the digital sphere. A big number of visitors at Metal-Expo’2018 proves that steel industry professionals need to meet face to face and see products live in the era of a volatile market where technologies upgrade, product lines improve, and competence grows.
Metal Supply and Sales, Metal-Expo’2018 General Information Partner arranged at its stand online interviews with steel company leaders and professionals of engineering and steel trading companies. Some 80 top-managers among whom Mr. Denis Lyadov, General Manager, MMK, Mr. Dmitry Gorshkov, Head of Marketing Severstal, Mr. Roman Obryaschikov, General Manager, NLMK Trade House, Mr. Victor Klochay, Chairman of the Board, Ruspolyment, Mr. Vladimir Oborsky, First Deputy General Manager, TMK, Mr. Oleg Malarschikov, Head of Regional Sales, TMK, Nazim Efendiev, First Deputy General Manager, METALLOINVEST Managing Company, Mr. Eric Helin, President, Specta, Mr. Sergey Frolov, Vice-President for Strategies and Communications, IMH, Mr. Sergey Krasnoperov, General Manager, Aluminium Metallurg Rus, Mr. Andrey Grigoriev, Commercial Director, Polema, Mr. Alexey Perevozov, Technical Director, SMK, Mr. Dmitry Makhailov, Production Director, SMK, Mr. Denis Kuleshov, Direcotr for the CIS, MAIR Research, Mr. Vladimir Krysanov, Commercial Director, Steel Industrial Company, Mr. Boris Yarantsev, Director, Prommetiz Association, Mr. Alexander Danilov, General Manager, Steel Construction Development Association etc. spoke about the market trends and their companies strategies.
Many attendants consider Metal-Expo a significant event for the Russian and global steel industries for it affects the correlation of forces in the market, helps find marketing channels, establishes business relations with customers, promotes brand-names, tests new product lines etc. One of the distinctive features of Metal-Expo’2018 became a positive atmosphere and high efficiency. Many exhibitors already confirmed their spaces at Metal-Expo’2019, the 25th Jubilee International Exhibition, November 12-15, VDNHa, Moscow. Russia.
