Russian steelmaker PJSC Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) – one of the world's largest steel producers – hosted a delegation from PJSC AVTOVAZ led by the car manufacturer’s president Yves Caracatzanis. The parties discussed their current co-operation and the potential to adopt new steel grades for the car industry.
This was Mr Caracatzanis' first visit to MMK. He was appointed head of Russia’s leading car manufacturer earlier this month.
According to MMK, AVTOVAZ is one of its largest partners. Last year, the steel producer supplied more than 293kt of metal to the company, representing a significant share of MMK’s total supplies to the automotive industry of 528kt during the year.
Caracatzanis met with Victor Rashnikov, chairman of MMK, to discuss the steelmaker's development as a supplier of modern steel grades required by the car industry, as well as co-operation with AVTOVAZ's engineering departments to adopt new steel grades to meet the car manufacturer’s needs.
The AVTOVAZ delegation visited MMK’s production site, including sheet rolling facility No. 11, which includes a state-of-the-art cold-rolling mill for manufacturing high-quality automotive sheet, and was shown the production process for modern automotive sheet, which is used to manufacture AVTOVAZ's latest models, such as the Lada Vesta and X-Ray.
MMK claims that it has significantly expanded its capabilities to produce high-quality rolled steel for carmakers. The launch of sheet rolling facility No.11 has enabled MMK to become highly competitive among domestic and international metal producers. As a result, MMK holds leading positions in the Russian metals industry in terms of metal supplies to the car industry.