Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) is going to put up a plant meant for producing automobile pressings in Saint Petersburg. The solemn laying-of-the-foundation-stone ceremony took place on December 21, 2007. The event was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Governor of Saint Petersburg Valentina Matvienko, and MMK’s Chairman Viktor Rashnikov. Mr. Rashnikov noted that the future plant would deal in full-cycle production of body parts and subunits for automobiles that would be totally comparable with their best foreign counterparts. He also thanked Mr. Putin and Ms Matvienko for their support and approval of the project.

MMK has already made a number of important steps needed to make this project work. In July 2007, the company signed an agreement with SMS Demag, the German machine-building giant, regarding the construction and delivery of cold-rolling mill 2000 meant for manufacturing of high-quality automobile body sheets as well as of all the accompanying equipment. The mill will be used for making the best cold-rolled and galvanized mill products there are for the car industry, manufacturers of home appliances, and the building industry. In August 2007, MMK bought 75% of shares of a Saint Petersburg-based Intercos-IV that deals in manufacturing of dies and pressings.

In September 2007, Governor of Saint Petersburg Valentina Matvienko and MMK’s Chairman Viktor Rashnikov signed an agreement on some 3 billion RUR worth of investments in the future plant.

This plant’s produce is to be used by car factories like Ford, Toyota, General Motors Company, and Nissan and by manufacturers of home appliances like Bosch-Siemens and Electrolux.