MMK, Atakas Group to launch cold rolling department

Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) and Atakas Group announced that a cold rolling department is to be launched at MMK-Atakas production facility in Iskenderun, Turkey.

This $250m cold rolling department includes a continuous pickling line capable of producing 1.2 million tons of metal goods a year, a reversing mill with the capacity of 750,000 tons of goods a year, a continuous hot-dip galvanizing unit with the capacity of 450,000 tons of goods a year, and a polymeric coating line with the annual capacity of 200,000 tons of goods a year. By the end of 2011, the department is expected to reach its full projected capacity of 750,000 tons of ready metal goods a year, MMK reports.

The decision to put up MMK-Atakas was taken as early as May 2007. In July 2007, MMK bought 50% plus one share of MMK ATAKAŞ METALÜRJİ SANAYİ, TİCARET VE LİMAN İŞLETMECİLİĞİ A.Ş., with the rest belonging to the Turkish Atakas Group.

The construction process began in March 2008. The entire facility, whose annual production capacity is to come to 2.3 million tons of rolled sheets, will be located in two production sites in Iskenderun and in Istanbul. The project requires $1.7bn worth of investments altogether, with the financing provided both through the investors’ money and borrowed funds. The better part of the machinery gets supplied by Danieli, an Italian business.

Apart from the cold rolling department, a hot-dip galvanizing unit, and a polymeric coating line,
MMK-Atakas also comprises two maintenance and operation centers in Iskenderun and Istanbul. Both centers, launched in 2008 and 2010, respectively, deal in crosscutting and slitting of hot- and cold-rolled products and of coated rolled stock as well as in product packaging.

On top of all this, a sea port has been built right on the premises of the plant in Iskenderun in order to provide the site with raw stuffs and expendable supplies and to ship the ready goods to consumers. The port can take in vessels with full load weight of up to 100,000 tons.

Next year, a new arc-furnace melting shop with a casting and rolling unit will be launched in Iskenderun, whereas in Istanbul, a polymeric coating line and a continuous hot-dip galvanizing unit will start operating.

‘Our enterprise’s technical potential is currently unique to both Russia and Turkey. Although MMK-Atakas intends to focus primarily on the domestic Turkish market, having our own port means we can also concentrate on the markets of Europe and the Middle East,’ says MMK BOD Chairman Viktor Rashnikov.

According to Atakas Group BOD Chairman Recep Atakas, Turkey’s metal consumption market has been expanding very rapidly over the last few years; the steel-consuming industries’ dynamic development has created a stable demand for steel sheets. This is actually flat rolled stock that is needed on the home Turkish market most badly, it has been said.

‘MMK-Atakas is expected to eliminate this shortage and to offer the Turkish market not only its hot-rolled products but also cold-rolled ones and goods with polymeric and zinc coatings,’ Mr. Atakas said.

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