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History of the Evraz Group - Company Timeline

Evraz Group Profile & Timeline History of Evraz Group

Evraz Group is a vertically-integrated firm which is largely self-sufficient in terms of iron ore supply and more than self-sufficient in coking coal production. From its origins in metals trading in 1992 Evraz grew into one of the largest integrated steelmakers in the world, producing ~12.5 million tonnes of crude steel in 2022. Sanctions-related reporting constraints have prevented the company from publishing comprehensive annual reports since 2022, but we estimate that 2024 liquid steel production remained close to ~12.5 million tonnes.

Evraz Group Timeline

  • Trading Origins (1992-1995): Founded as small metal trader Evrazmetall, EAM Group established with coal, ore and steel businesses, Duferco partnership signed, acquired controlling stake in NTMK
  • Russian Steel Empire Building (1999-2004): Took management of Zapsib and Novokuznetsk works, EvrazHolding founded to oversee operations, acquired Yuzhkuzbassugol coal mine stake
  • International Expansion Spree (2005-2008): London Stock Exchange listing, major acquisitions including Raspadskaya coal, Italian Palini & Bertoli, Czech Vitkovice, Oregon Steel Mills USA, Ukrainian steel assets, South African vanadium operations
  • Global Optimisation (2009-2011): Acquired Vanady-Tula vanadium producer, reconstructed NKMK rail mill for high-speed rails, began major mine reconstruction projects
  • Rationalisation and Restructuring (2012-2020): Closed loss-making plants in Czech Republic, Italy and USA, sold non-core assets, launched solar power projects, suffered ransomware attack, corporate rebranding
  • Sanctions Impact and Strategic Challenges (2021-2023): Considered coal business demerger, board resignations following UK sanctions, solicited North American asset sales, announced Canadian workforce reductions
  • Break-Up of the Group (2024-2026): Sold North American business to Atlas Holdings, lost control of Russian assets, which were listed in Moscow as PJSC EVRAZ
Timeline shows dramatic transformation from small Russian metals trader to global vertically-integrated steel giant, followed by strategic rationalisation and recent geopolitical challenges. Demonstrates both ambitious international expansion and vulnerability to sanctions impacts.

The timeline below covers the history of the firm.

  • 1992: EVRAZ founded as a small metal trader - Evrazmetall.
  • 1995: EAM Group founded - coal, ore & steel businesses.
  • 1995: EAM Group signs partnership agreement with Duferco.
  • 1995: EAM becomes owner of controlling stake in NTMK.
  • 1999: EAM takes on management of Zapsib and Novokuznetsk.
  • 1999: EvrazHolding founded to oversee steel co's & ore mines.
  • 2004: Acquisition of stake in Yuzhkuzbassugol coal mine.
  • 2005: GDRs floated on London Stock Exchange.
  • 2005: Purchase of Mine 12 [coal mine in the Kemerovo Region].
  • 2005: Acquisition of equity interest in Raspadskaya coal company.
  • 2005: Acquisitions of Italian rolling mill Palini & Bertoli.
  • 2005: Takeover of Vitkovice Steel (plate mill) in Czech Republic.
  • 2006: Acquisition of majority stake in Strategic Minerals Corporation.
  • 2006: Buys ~25% stake in Highveld Steel & Vanadium, South Africa.
  • 2006: Start of iron ore production at Izykhgoland, Siberia.
  • 2007: Purchase of Oregon Steel Mills in the USA.
  • 2008: Investment in section mill 350 in Kostanaisk, Kazakhstan.
  • 2008: Takeover of US plate producer Claymont Steel.
  • 2008: Acquisition of IPSCO‘s plate and tube business, Canada.
  • 2008: Acquisition by Evraz of portfolio of Ukrainian assets.
  • 2009: Acquisition of Vanady-Tula [vanadium raw materials].
  • 2011: Reconstruction of NKMK rail mill [high-speed rails; long rails].
  • 2012: Closure of loss-making Czech Vitkovice heavy section mill.
  • 2012: Reconstruction commenced of Evrazruda Sheregesh mine.
  • 2012: Temporary closure of Vitkovice plant - poor demand.
  • 2013: Suspension of operations at Italian Palini e Bertoli plant.
  • 2013: Idling of 500kt mill in Delaware USA due to weak demand.
  • 2013: Sale of VGOK Iron Ore Processing Plant for $20m.
  • 2013: Launch of new Kazahk rolling mill in Kostanay.
  • 2014: Spends $600m on Novokuznetsk rail mill rebuild.
  • 2015: Evraz Highveld Steel & Vanadium commences rescue proceedings.
  • 2016: Announces halt of rebar production at Kazakh plant.
  • 2016: Announces April closure of Oregon spiral pipe plant, Portland.
  • 2017: Completes sale of Nakhodka Trade Sea Port to Lanebrook.
  • 2018: Sells 15% equity stake in Delong for ~$92m.
  • 2018: Merger of EVRAZ ZSMK and Evrazruda.
  • 2019: Refinances with 20 billion Rouble bond issue.
  • 2019: Invests in solar power for steel production in Pueblo, Colorado.
  • 2020: Evraz North America falls victim to ransomware attack.
  • 2020: EVRAZ announces a revamped corporate brand.
  • 2020: Sets up Allegro jv with Rail Service Industrial Group for railway wheel production.
  • 2021: Considers potential demerger of coal business.
  • 2021: Signs long-term agreement with TMK for supply of pipe billets.
  • 2021: Resumes Timir project to improve iron ore self-sufficiency.
  • 2022: Ten members of board resign following imposition of UK sanctions.
  • 2022: Suspends planned demerger of Raspadskaya coal assets.
  • 2022: Idles large-diameter pipe production at Regina Works, Saskatchewan.
  • 2022: Solicits proposals for the purchase of its North American subsidiaries.
  • 2023: Announces planned lay-off of more than 100 employees in Canadian mills.
  • 2024: Worker fatality at Pueblo plant - man killed in maintenance accident on August 9.
  • 2025: OSHA fines Evraz $61,711 for four safety violations.
  • 2025: Completes sale of North American business to Atlas Holdings, which renames it Orion Steel.
  • 2025: Loses control of Russian assets to newly formed PJSC EVRAZ following Russian court rulings.
  • 2026: PJSC EVRAZ shares begin trading on the Moscow Exchange.

Notes
  • EAM Group was led by Alexander G. Abramov, who is currently [as at mid-2011] Chairman of the Evraz Group Board of Directors.
  • The West Siberian Steel Works [annual steel capacity of ~6.5 million tonnes] is also known as Zapsib.
  • NKMK is also known as Novokuznetsk Metallurgical Kombinat [2011 steel production capacity of ~1.9 million tonnes / year].
  • NTMK [Nisnhy Tagil Metallurgical Plant; also known as Nishny Tagil Metallurgical Kombinat] is jointly controlled with the Swiss company Duferco.
  • The Evrazruda mining business comprises the Tashtagol Mine, Kaz Mine, the Sheregesh Mine, Gurev Mine and the Abagur Sinter and Enrichment Works; as well as the Abakanskoye Mine and the Teya Mine [all CIS based].
  • 1999: EvrazHolding at this point also had control over ZSMK (Zapsib) and NKMK (Novokuznetsk Works), as well as the Vysokogorsky and Kachkanarsky iron ore mines, Evrazruda and Nakhodka Sea Port.
  • 2006: Strategic Minerals Corporation in the USA is one of the world's leading producers of vanadium alloys; the firm also produces chemicals for steel, titanium and other industries.
  • 2008: Portfolio of assets acquired by Evraz in Ukraine included the Sukha Balka Iron Ore Mining and Processing Works, the Dneprodzerzhinsk Coke Chemical Plant, Dneprokoks and Bagleykoks, and the Dnepropetrovsk Iron and Steel Works.
  • 2009: Vanady-Tula in Russia’s largest ferrovanadium producer.
  • 2012: Evrazruda Sheregesh mine reconstruction intended to increase production 2.5 times to 4.8 Mtpa by 2016.
  • 2013: Evraz' plant Palini e Bartoli at San Giorgio di Nogaro in northern Italy has the capacity to produce ~500,000 tonnes per year of steel plate.
  • 2013: Sale of the Vysokogorsky Iron Ore Mining and Processing Plant (VGOK) to NPRO URAL was announced in October 2013.
  • 2013: Kostanay facility is a light-section rolling mill commissioned in December 2013. This plant is a joint venture between EVRAZ (65%) and the Kazakh Caspian Group (35%).
  • 2014: Refurbished Novokuznetsk facility has an estimated production capacity of ~950,000 tonnes of rails per year, which is roughly equivalent to Russia’s annual rail demand.
  • 2015: After commencing voluntary rescue proceedings in April 2015, Evraz Highveld was largely sustained by a R150m working capital loan from South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation. Financial support from a Hong Kong based investor in September 2015 offered the company a lifeline, but medium-term prospects for the business are still uncertain as at Q4 2015.
  • 2016: Evraz announced in January 2016 that its steel mill in Kostanay would halt production due to weak demand and unfavourable market conditions. The Kazakh rebar plant was commissioned in 2013 and the plant's annual production was 450kt of steel rebar in diameters of 10-40mm.
  • 2016: The decision to close the Oregon mill was reportedly related to three factors (i) delays in regulatory approvals for pipelines in the US and Canada (ii) the influx of unfairly traded and subsidised imported large diameter pipe to the US (iii) high import duties of up to 50% on pipe shipments into Mexico.
  • June 2017 sale of Evraz Nakhodka Trade Sea Port to its majority shareholder - Lanebrook Limited - was for a total consideration of ~$354 million.
  • 2018: Delong Holdings Limited is a leading SGX-listed steel producer of hot-rolled steel coil.
  • 2019: Sberbank CIB, VTB Capital and Alfa-Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers in the bond issue.
  • 2019: Evraz North America and Xcel Energy and Lightsource BP announced in Q3 2019 that they had reached agreement to develop a new 240-megawatt solar facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The project is expected to go online by the end-2021. The solar power plant will be located on Evraz's Rocky Mountain Steel property in Pueblo, making Evraz an industry leader in the use of renewable energy to produce 'green steel'. The Evraz Pueblo plant produces rail, seamless pipe, rod and coiled reinforcing bar.
  • 2020: The ransomware attack impacted Evraz's operations across the United States and Canada, including Regina (the largest steel company in western Canada - a producer of steel plate and coil, and small and large diameter pipe). Employees of the Queen City steel mill were also temporarily laid off.
  • 2020: New corporate identity includes the new tag line 'For A Better Future'. It also includes a new logo which reflects the vertical integration of the company and symbolises the key steelmaking production stages: the red is for the glowing coal, the orange is for the molten iron, and the yellow is for the liquid steel used to make rolled products.
  • 2020: It was announced in September 2020 that ANDRITZ Group companies would supply Allegro a full-cycle wheels manufacturing line, with first deliveries of equipment scheduled for Q1 2022.
  • 2021: Evraz coal assets are consolidated within PAO Raspadskaya. According to a company press release, demerger might establish Raspadskaya as an independent leading regional producer of high quality metallurgical coal.
  • 2021: Semi-finished billet supply agreement with TMK (centred on delivery of large rounds) is for seamless tube production at TMK's Sinarsky Pipe Plant.
  • 2021: Timir is an iron ore mining project centred on development of the Tayozhnoye and Desovskoye deposits. Evraz owns 51% of this mine, which is jointly owned with diamond miner Alrosa which holds a 49% stake.
  • 2022: The ten board members who quit included Alexander Abramov, Alexander Frolov, Alexander Izosimov, Deborah Gudgeon, Eugene Shvidler, Eugene Tenenbaum, Karl Gruber, Maria Gordon, Sir Michael Peat and Stephen Odell.
  • 2022: Regarding the suspension of the coal demerger, the company said it was awaiting clarification on regulatory restrictions, both from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, and from HM Treasury, following the Financial Sanctions Notice issued on March 10th, 2022 and from the Russian authorities on the shareholder rights to dispose of the shares received as part of the demerger process.
  • 2022: Idling of Regina Works - after an extremely quiet 2021 - involved layoffs of about 170 steel mill workers since May 2022. Further layoffs were expected.
  • 2022: Evraz North America operates two EAF-based steel facilities (one in Pueblo, Colorado, and the other in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) as well as four rolling mills, eight tube mills and 17 scrap recycling facilities.
  • 2023: Redundancies at Evraz North America are understood to arise because of Canada's high steel import volumes. In 2022, these imports amounted to ~40% of Canadian steel demand.
  • 2024: Following the accident, an OSHA investigation identified inadequate lockout/tagout protocols and insufficient training for safely powering down stamp wheel machinery. OSHA in fact uncovered four separate safety violations during this investigation resulting in the 2025 fine.
  • 2025: Atlas completed the acquisition on July 31, 2025. Terms comprised an upfront payment of $50 million plus deferred payments of up to $450 million, subject to the North American business meeting performance milestones. Evraz North America had operated independently of Evraz plc under a UK sanctions licence since May 2022.
  • 2025: In July 2025 a Moscow Region court suspended Evraz plc's corporate rights in Evraz NTMK, which Russia had designated an economically significant organisation. Russian assets were then consolidated around NTMK, which became PJSC EVRAZ, registered in Nizhny Tagil. In November 2025 a presidential order approved the transfer of Evraz plc's 93.2% stake in Raspadskaya and 51% of Timir to Evraz KGOK. In October 2025, the EU added Evraz plc to its 19th sanctions package.
  • 2026: PJSC EVRAZ combines the group's former Russian steelmaking, mining and vanadium operations, including ZSMK (Novokuznetsk) and NTMK (Nizhny Tagil). The London-listed Evraz plc, suspended since March 2022, no longer controls these assets.