NLMK Group, which claims to be the largest Russian steelmaker, with operations in Russia, Europe and the USA, and KAMAZ, Russia’s leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer, have held their first Co-ordinating Council in Naberezhnye Chelny.
The two companies discussed steel deliveries and the possibility of manufacturing new machinery for NLMK, using the Russian steelmaker’s premium Quard 450 steel, an abrasion-resistant premium steel for semi-trailers used in the transportation of coils, and tipper trucks with a reinforced frame.
The two companies intensified their co-operation in May this year. NLMK Group supplies KAMAZ with cold-rolled steel, which is used to manufacture truck cabins.
The Co-ordinating Council brought together senior managers from both companies responsible for sales, technical support, procurement and operations and they agreed to widen the mix of flat products supplied to KAMAZ. Measures to improve the efficiency of logistics and the use of financial instruments were also discussed.
NLMK’s vice president for sales, Ilya Guschin, said that NLMK holds regular meetings with its partners and often visits their production facilities to gain a greater understanding of one another’s needs and capabilities.
“We are ready to increase our deliveries to KAMAZ and help our partners gain a competitive edge through uninterrupted and timely deliveries of high quality steel. Meanwhile, KAMAZ is offering us its new truck range. We have already agreed on a test drive,” Guschin said.
Denis Kochnev, director of materials and metals procurement for KAMAZ said that the company had a long-standing business relationship with NLMK. “We have to set the bar high for our suppliers in order to maintain our market leadership, and NLMK meets our requirements regarding the quality of steel supplied and the timeliness of deliveries in full,” he said, adding that NLMK’s cold-rolled steel is cut-to-length and stamped to make critical external and internal components for KAMAZ cabins, truck bed elements and fuel tanks. “We plan to expand the range of hot-rolled steel deliveries in 2016 to grow our purchase volumes,” he explained.