UrBC, Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Region, July 15, 2011. The first section of the cold-roll Mill 2000 was launched at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) today. The launching ceremony was attended by the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, MMK PR Department reports.

The facility, capable of manufacturing 2 million tons of goods a year, will mainly deal in the production of high quality cold-rolled and zinc-coated rolled products for external and internal car parts. This produce is also expected to be popular with the home appliances manufacturers as well as with the building industry.

MMK will invest about $1.5bn in the project altogether. The need to introduce new facility originally had to do with the growing demand for very high quality cold-rolled products, especially automobile body sheets. This product will be manufactured at Mill 2000 using the most advanced technologies.

The first section of the cold-rolled facility launched today comprises a continuous etching line combined with a tandem mill. The second section, which comprises a continuous hot-dip galvanizing line, a continuous annealing plant, and a strip-surveying line, is scheduled to be launched in July 2012. The contract for the delivery of the machinery for the cold-roll Mill 2000 was signed by MMK with the German machine-building concern SMS-DEMAG in July 2007.

The facility will produce cold-rolled sheets in rolls (weight: up to 43.5 tons, strip width: 0.28 mm to 3 mm, width: 850 mm to 1,880 mm).

MMK BOD Chairman Viktor Rashnikov says the launch of the new Mill 2000 will allow MMK to raise the share of cold-rolled and zinc-coated products in the company’s overall product range, to produce more kinds of these products, and to provide the company’s customers with high quality cold-rolled and zinc-coated sheets, including those made from highly durable steels.