Today, on December 30, 2009, MMK commissioned Continuous Slab Casting Machine №6 (CSCM №6) in the oxygen-converter shop. This marks a successive stage of Plate Mill 5000 complex development in order to produce plates for wide-diameter pipe production.

The equipment supply contract for CSCM №6 was signed with SMS Demag in November, 2006. The engineering of the project was carried out by OJSC “Magnitogorsk Gipromez”. General contractors for the project were OJSC “Prokatmontazh”, OJSC “Stroitelny Komplex”, and OJSC “PO Montazhnik”.

The designed capacity of CSCM №6 is up to 1.6 mln tons of slabs with width range 1400 – 2700 mm, thickness 190 mm, 250 mm, 300 mm. The maximal slab casting speed equals 1.0 m/min. Slabs from CSCM №6 will be used for rolling at Plate Mill 5000.

The high quality of CSCM №6 slab micro-structure will allow to produce plates with special strength and plasticity characteristics. Due to unique technologies applied at CSCM №6, Plate Mill 5000 will be able to produce plates of high strength grades, which will secure the leading position of MMK among plate producers in Russia.

The leading Russian pipe manufacturers are key customers of MMK. MMK shipments to the pipe industry in 2008 amounted to 1 630 th. tons, which is 23% of the overall domestic sales of the company.

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The Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works OJSC (MMK) is among the world's largest steel producers and is one of the leaders of Russia's steel industry. The Company is a large steel producing complex encompassing the entire production chain, from preparation of iron ore to downstream processing of rolled steel. MMK turns out a broad range of steel products with a predominant share of value added goods. In 2008 the Company produced 12m tonnes of crude steel and 11m tonnes of commercial products. MMK Group sales stood at USD 10.550 bln.