OREANDA-NEWS. April 12, 2012. Severstal, one of the world’s leading vertically integrated steel and steel related mining companies, announces that its steel production unit, the Cherepovets Steel Mill achieved the design capacity of its second color-coating line (CCL-2) with annual production capacity of 200 thousand tons per annum of coated hot dip rolled products.

As a result the Cherepovets Steel Mill might produce at least 400 thousand tons of coated hot dip rolled products in 2012.

The time frame that was required for achieving the design capacity of CCL-2 is record-breaking for the same lines type in Russia.

CCL-2 reached its design capacity in 4 months, 3 months earlier than scheduled. CCL-2 produced its first colored roll in late November 2011 and was officially commissioned in December.

Andrei Lutsenko, Manufacturing Director and Chief Engineer, Division Severstal Russian Steel commented: "The line has been operating at its design capacity of 16,667 tons of coated steel monthly since April. CCL-2 consistently gains its projected characteristics in terms of metal and paint coat consumption, as well as product quality. Given the successful development of CCL-2, we intend to ensure that the two lines produce as much as 412.9 thousand tons of coated steel as early as during this year".

In 2011, given demand for coated rolled stock manufactured by the Cherepovets Steel Mill, the first line produced 221,225 tons of steel, which exceeds its design output capacity.

The total investment in the second line is more than 2.5 billion roubles (USD 78.1 million).

The first color-coating line at the Cherepovets Steel Mill was running at full capacity just seven months (five months ahead of schedule) after it was commissioned in December 2005. Using the expertise developed from operating the first line, the company is confident that CCL-2 will too soon be at full capacity.

German Company SMS Siemag acts as the technology developer and equipment supplier. Both production lines are designed for continuous manufacture of coated steel strip for the construction industry.