According to Vadim Dorofeev, senior manager of MMK’s Coated Products Sales, MMK remains the largest supplier of
galvanised steel in Russia, with record-breaking total sales of 1.269 million tonnes in 2018; and while exports (including those to CIS countries) are gradually increasing, the company continues to focus on the Russian market, which accounts for 80% of its sales.

The main consumers of MMK’s galvanised steel are the construction sector (64%) and the automotive industry (26%).

MMK (www.eng.mmk.ru) also remains one of the largest players in the polymer-coated steel market.

In 2018, the company sold 559,000 tonnes of this product, of which 90% went to the domestic market. The merger of the Lysvensky Metallurgical Plant (LMP) into MMK Group enabled MMK to achieve a significant increase in sales (of more than 27%).

MMK Group’s production and supply of polymer-coated steel now takes place at two different production sites. In 2018, 270,000 tonnes of polymer-coated steel were shipped to the Russian market from the MMK site and 231,000 tonnes from
the MMK-LMP site.

These products are mainly used by the construction industry. Polymer-coated steel is profiled and used as a semi-finished rolled product for the manufacture of metal roofing tiles (22%), profiled sheeting (56%) and sandwich panels (7%).

According to Mr Dorofeev, MMK is aiming to maintain 100% capacity utilisation rate in 2019; and in order to prevent “possible falsification”, the company will not only continue to improve its product labelling but also work with technical institutions specialising in the “development and editing of documents regulating the production of coated steel”.

MMK says it also intends to continue developing its ‘just in time’ production capabilities.

In 2018, MMK produced 12.7 million tonnes of crude steel and 11.7 million tonnes of commercial steel products.

It had sales of $8,214 million and EBITDA of $2,418 million.