Launch of the new quenching and tempering line at NLMK Clabecq plan (Belgium)

NLMK Europe Management team opened the new Quenching &Tempering Steel transformation line. This investment of over €100 million guarantees the sustainability of the NLMK Clabecq plant (Belgium).

This investment supports the NLMK Group’s strategy of development and innovation. A new blast furnace and new basic oxygen furnace facility of over 3.4 mtpa capacity were put into operation at the Company’s main production site in Lipetsk (approximately half thousand kilometers from Moscow). Both production facilities were built using the best available technology, which will enable NLMK to produce high quality slabs needed for the production of Q&T steels.

The Q&T unit investment, confirmed in 2009 despite the world financial crisis, guarantees the sustainability of the NLMK Clabecq plant. The annual capacity of the new line is 250 k tons; this means that one third of the production of NLMK Clabecq will pass through the Quenching & Tempering.

In recent years, the trend has been to supply the plate market with lighter products, with superior mechanical properties. The Clabecq mill specializes in the production of thin plate known for its surface finish, flatness and thickness variability control. This is the result of extensive knowledge combined with a world class production line.

Igor Sarkits, CEO of NLMK Europe-Plate, said: “Thanks to these niche markets, NLMK Clabecq will be able to upgrade to high added value product mix with abrasion resistant and high strength steels, used, for example, in the Yellow Goods (earth moving and mining equipment) and lifting & transport. Introducing a more complete offer to its customers will reduce the risk of price volatility experienced by this traditional steel sector. This will be the best guarantee for the future of NLMK Clabecq.”

About NLMK Clabecq:

Located in Ittre, Belgium, NLMK Clabecq produces steel plates of thicknesses ranging from 3 to 120 mm. The plant is close to the port of Antwerp and at the centre of a major European motorway network, and distributes its sheets to the four corners of the world, with a third of sales destined for locations outside Europe. The NLMK Clabecq plate mill is unique in combining a reversible quarto mill and a continuous finishing mill with 4 independent stands.

NLMK Clabecq employs 530 people and has an annual production capacity of 750 k tons of plates.

About NLMK Europe:

NLMK Europe has a total capacity of over 4 million tons. It consists of two Business Units:
1. Strip Products at La Louviere, Beautor, Strasbourg, and Service Centres.
2. Plate Products at Clabecq, Verona and DanSteel.

About NLMK Group:

NLMK is one of the world's leading manufacturers of steel with a production in 2010 for over 11.5 million tons and a turnover of USD 8.4 billion. NLMK’s production facilities are located in Russia, the EU and the USA and the Group employs around 60,000 employees.

The Group produces a wide range of steel products including slabs and billets, hot and thick hot rolled plates, as well as cold rolled, galvanized, transformer and dynamo steel, together with reinforcing steel, wire and other metal products.