Metinvest mining and metallurgical group will continue the implementation of investment projects in metallurgy, in particular, at Kametstal plant, created at the facilities of Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (Kamyanske, Dnipropetrovsk region).
“In March, Kametstal was the only metal producer in the country. In April, we managed to withdraw from hot conservation and resume production at Zaporizhstal. Metallurgy was one of the key industries in Ukraine in peacetime, and during the war it became a significant source of filling budgets at all levels, which is extremely important for our economy, so we will continue to implement investment projects in production, because the restoration of our country is ahead,” CEO of Metinvest Yuriy Ryzhenkov said during a visit to Kametstal steel plant.
According to him, it will be necessary to rebuild the infrastructure of Ukraine – bridges, roads, buildings.
“For all this, metal is very necessary. And it is precisely in this that the role of Kametstal cannot be overestimated,” he said.
Earlier, the general director of Kametstal, Dmytro Lippa, reported that the enterprise was working and is working with 100% capacity utilization.
“We are provided with orders, there are problems with logistics, but we are solving them,” he said.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated mining group of companies that manages assets in every link of the production chain from iron ore and coal mining and coke production to the production of semi-finished goods and finished products from steel, pipes and coils, as well as the production of other high value-added goods. The group consists of mining and metallurgical enterprises located in Ukraine, Europe and the United States, has a sales network covering all key global markets.
Since the beginning of the war, Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group has allocated UAH 1.176 billion to solve social problems of people, as well as to help the military.
Starting February 24, the group has largely restructured its operations, according to a company press release. By the decision of shareholders Rinat Akhmetov and Vadim Novinsky, in addition to supporting the economic stability of Ukraine, the company threw all its efforts into helping Ukraine and Ukrainians.
At the same time, humanitarian support for the population in several key areas has become a 24/7 job for many Metinvest employees. Thus, together with DTEK (the SCM energy business), Metinvest became one of the founders of the Saving Lives humanitarian project. The work of the project is coordinated with the Rinat Akhmetov and Vadim Novinsky Foundations.
The main objective of the humanitarian initiative was the purchase and delivery of humanitarian goods, primarily food products, from Europe to Ukraine. In two months, about 30,000 people received assistance. Thanks to charitable contributions from almost 70 companies from around the world, 1,644 tonnes of food, essential goods, hygiene products and medicines were transferred to the affected areas.
In close cooperation with the Ministry of Health, a medical assistance program was launched in Zaporizhia, Kryvy Rih, Kamianske, Pokrovsk and Avdiyivka, which combines the purchase and transfer of thousands of sets of medicines, as well as the purchase of medical equipment for hospitals and outpatient clinics. The company also donated 150 tonnes of oxygen to COVID-19 patients.
Mining and metallurgical group “Metinvest” Rinat Akhmetov and Vadim Novinsky intends to employ most of the 13 thousand metallurgists and repairmen evacuated from Mariupol.
“Metinvest Group has decided to keep the payment in full to all employees for March, despite the fact that the enterprises of Mariupol did not work a day. To everyone who left for the territory controlled by Ukraine, the company keeps payments in the amount of 2/3 of the salary and offers vacancies in Metinvest career centers in Zaporozhye, Kryvyi Rih, Kamensky and Pokrovsk,” the company said on Tuesday.
It is noted that the decision was approved for the priority employment of immigrants from Mariupol at the company’s enterprises – about 2,000 vacancies have been prepared. Negotiations are ongoing with partners to deploy more possible jobs. We are talking about municipal utilities of cities and various humanitarian missions.
It is also indicated that the company is working to address the priority needs of employees from Mariupol: everyone who traveled to the cities where the Metinvest group operates can be temporarily resettled at facilities prepared for this and receive humanitarian assistance: food kits, clothes, accessories for children and basic household items. In addition, company employees can count on medical and psychological support.
For those who find jobs, payments in the amount of UAH 10,000 from the Metinvest group are also provided as assistance in setting up a life.
It is also stated that not only Mariupol metallurgical plants, but also enterprises in Avdiivka have been stopped at present.
“We are launching production in Zaporozhye, but it is not working to its full capacity. Volumes have been reduced in Krivoy Rog, Kamensky and Pokrovsk. The Metinvest group is trying with all its might to maintain production in order to pay wages to those who work and support those who find themselves in difficulty from -for Russia’s attack on Ukraine, as well as helping Ukraine bring victory closer,” the company’s information emphasizes.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine – in Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk regions, in European countries. The main shareholders of Metinvest are the SCM group (71.25%) of Rinat Akhmetov and Smart Holding (23.75%) of Vadim Novinsky, who jointly manage the company.
LLC “Zaporozhye Casting and Mechanical Plant” (ZLMZ), created on the basis of the production workshops of the department of the chief mechanic of PJSC “Zaporizhstal”, which is part of the Metinvest group, has resumed its work.
According to the company’s information on Sunday, earlier the Metinvest group decided to withdraw the main equipment of ZLMZ from the conservation regime, while before that only duty teams came to the workplace to maintain the equipment in proper condition.
“We have every reason to resume work: the military situation in Zaporozhye is under control, we have received both standard orders and unique requests from customers, so now we are making every effort to fulfill them,” the words of the acting are quoted in the message. Director General of ZLMZ Igor Dolgozvezda.
It is specified that the plant has resumed the work of the main divisions: a mechanical workshop, a metal structure workshop and a section for the production of shaped castings. Currently, the Zaporizhia Casting and Mechanical Plant is planning to produce and restore parts for Metinvest enterprises – Zaporizhstal, Kametstal, Metinvest Pokrovskugol and mining and processing plants of the Metinvest group. The company is also mastering the production of new types of products – spare parts for mining and lifting vehicles.
Yury Dmitriev, the head of the ZLMZ machine shop, pointed out that after the information about the resumption of production, the workers immediately expressed a desire to return to work, and some employees even began to return from abroad.
“Before the war, we worked on a day/night/48 or 5/2 schedule. Now our workers are ready to work around the clock to load the equipment to the maximum and produce the maximum product,” Dmitriev said.
Work shifts for employees have been adjusted to reflect the curfew. The enterprise provides centralized transportation of workers by corporate transport.
According to the decision of the company, the priority right to employment for open vacancies of scarce professions at ZLMZ is granted to specialists evacuated from Mariupol to Zaporozhye.
It is indicated that the company is gaining pre-war momentum and even working on new technologies so as not to depend on foreign supplies.
The press service also reports that ZLMZ employees, as volunteers, joined the work of the Center for the Coordination of the Humanitarian Mission of Metinvest in Zaporozhye from the first days of its creation, taking part in the reception, sorting and formation of cargo with humanitarian aid and coordinating the reception of internally displaced persons at social facilities companies in Zaporozhye.
LLC “Zaporozhye Casting and Mechanical Plant” (ZLMZ) was established on the basis of the foundry and mechanical shops, as well as the shop of metal structures of the plant “Zaporizhstal” in mid-2016. At the same time, the steel plant remains the main partner of the plant, which is a diversified enterprise with a closed production cycle.
ZLMZ specializes in the production of castings from cast iron, as well as from alloyed, low-alloyed and high-alloyed steels, metal structures and metal parts. The company produces a wide range of products, which includes molds for metallurgical plants, building structures, spare parts and prefabricated assemblies. The main consumers of the plant’s products are enterprises of the mining and metallurgical and other industries.
The plant is part of the Metinvest group, the largest mining and metallurgical holding in Ukraine. The main shareholders of Metinvest are the SCM group (71.25%) of Rinat Akhmetov and Smart Holding (23.75%) of Vadim Novinsky, who jointly manage the company.
Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group, owned by businessman Rinat Akhmetov, transferred $500,000 to a targeted charity fund for the purchase of protective ammunition and first-aid kits for the Territorial Defense Forces of Zapoprizhia.
“By uniting for the sake of defending the independence of Ukraine and Ukrainians, we are bringing victory closer. The army and the Territorial Defense Forces protect the civilian population, and we are trying to protect and support them in the struggle for state sovereignty, our freedom and independence,” head of the Metinvest Humanitarian Mission Coordination Center in Zaporizhia, director general of Zaporizhstal, Oleksandr Myronenko, who is quoted by the press service of the steel plant, said.
At the same time, it is noted that the Vadym Novynsky Foundation also transferred $500,000 in support of Zaporizhia Territorial Defense Forces.
The total contributions transferred to Zaporizhia Trust Charitable Fund will be used to purchase bulletproof vests, bulletproof helmets and NATO-standard first-aid kits for the defenders.
According to a press release, Metinvest Group has been supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Territorial Defense Forces in the cities where the company operates since the first days of the war. Since the beginning of hostilities, more than 35,000 anti-tank hedgehogs, as well as spiked chains against wheeled vehicles and anti-landing hedgehogs, have been made from Metinvest steel. With the support of the company, the construction of the city’s fortifications continues. Metinvest enterprises provide heavy special equipment and vehicles for the needs of defenders, as well as fuel, batteries and walkie-talkies.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine – in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, in European countries. In particular, in Bulgaria there is a Promet Steel plant with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes of rolled metal per year, in Italy – Metinvest Trametal and Ferriera Valsider with a total capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year. In the UK, the company owns the Spartan UK plant, which can produce 200,000 tonnes of rolled steel per year.
The main shareholders of Metinvest are the SCM group (71.25%) of Rinat Akhmetov and Smart Holding (23.75%) of Vadym Novynsky, who jointly manage the company.
Ukraine’s largest producer of coking coal, PrJSC Pokrovske Coal, intends to increase production of coking coal by 2024 and process it into coal concentrate by 4.1 million tonnes, Kostiantyn Vialy, director of the coal directorate at the managing company of Metinvest Group, said.
According to him, 2021 was not an easy and difficult year for the company, however, it was possible to achieve fairly high production volumes.
“Albeit not at the level that was planned. We have something to be proud of and, we can say that we managed to create a reliable guarantee of success and stability in the future. Last year we passed a very good investment program for 2022. We are planning a powerful mining upgrade – mine equipment for sinkers. At the end of February, we expect the delivery of two Chinese-made combines. We plan to purchase two more combines at the end of the year. As for the overhaul, one combine has already been received, two more are ready to be sent to the plant,” Vialy said in an interview with a corporate publication.
At the same time, he expressed the hope that a certain breakthrough in the pace of mining will be achieved this year, which will make it possible to significantly increase the “cleaning front” and production volumes in the future.
At the same time, he added that the first suspended battery locomotive is being tested in the mine today – compared to diesel, it does not produce noise and exhaust gases. In the future, it is planned to gradually update the mine transport. This requires considerable investments, but if you look at the issue taking into account the prospects, they will definitely pay off – if not today, then tomorrow.
Answering a question about the problem with personnel, he noted that the shortage of personnel is a problem of the entire labor market, which has been observed for many years.
Speaking about the future of the company, the director stressed that the vision is positive and successful.
“With the support of Metinvest, we are developing production, building new blocks, improving labor safety, the professional level of our employees. Our plans are large-scale. It is important for us to provide intra-group assets that are part of Metinvest with our coal. We plan to reach the peak of mine workings in 2024, which will increase production and produce concentrate in the amount of 4.1 million tonnes,” the head of the coal directorate said.
