OREANDA-NEWS. June 23, 2008. In April of 2008 Novosibirsk Metallurgical Plant named after Kuzmin (part of the ESTAR GROUP Metallurgical Holding) manufactured 2,151 t of hot rolled sheet and 384 t of cold rolled sheet that accounts for, respectively, 55% and 27% compared with the similar period of the previous year. Strip material and rolled section output, respectively, totaled 1782 t and 189 t (14% and 60% compared with April of 2007). In April NMP named after Kuzmin produced 354 t of road sections. This is 59% to the output in April of 2007.

Last April the sales of commercial products reached 554,920 mln rubles that is 87% to compare with April of 2007.

According to experts, the output reduction is first of all related to considerable growth of slab billets price on the metallurgical market, which is the raw stock for the company. To overcome the situation and to increase output of JSC Novosibirsk Metallurgical Plant named after Kuzmin it is planned to arrange the area for cutting of wide long continuously cast slabs. Arrangement of such area will reduce primary dependence on vendors and will considerably reduce the cost of one ton of section. The price of slabs for the 810 Mill from ZMSZ blooming that is currently the key slab vendor is much higher than the price from other vendors and it is still going up, so purchasing of sections at this price makes the majority of commercial products of the Novosibirsk Plant low profitable due to a high prime cost. That is why the specialists of Novosibirsk Metallurgical Plant named after Kuzmin have found the way out of this situation through cutting of standard continuously cast slabs with dimensions acceptable for processing at Mill 810.

In the 80’s the plant already used thermal cutting of slabs with the cutting area located on the plant railway tracks. The area complrised grounds for slabs handling and storage, racks for slabs laying and cutting, railway tracks, gas pipeline, liquid oxygen gasificator, etc.

Currently the site location was selected within the mechanical storage area of the hot rolling shop already having railway tracks and required hoisting equipment. When the cutting area is located within the mechanical storage area the existing metal handling system does not change to fit the schedules of rolling, no problems occur with the incoming metal stock weighing and control, besides the mechanical storage area has all the required infrastructure for personnel and for hooking up to communications and network. Reduction of costs will be reached via restoration and transfer of the old gasificator that has not been used since 1998 from the former slab cutting area to the new area.

According to specialists it will take 6 – 8 months to arrange the area for cutting wide long continuously cast slabs. The project cost is about 13 mln rubles with a payback period about 1.5 – 2 months.