History NLMK Steel Novolipetsk Russia historic profile

History of NLMK

NLMK is a vertically integrated steel company with the assets spanning from upstream operations through to downstream niche product areas. Producing over 17 million tonnes of crude steel, NLMK ranked as the #21 steelmaker in the world in 2021.

The timeline below covers the history of the firm.

1931: Construction of iron & steel plant began at Lipetsk.
1934: Production starts of pig iron at Novolipetsk Works.
1941: BF & power plant dismantled; evacuated to Chelyabinsk.
1947: Post-war reconstruction of Lipetsk plant.
1957: Commissioning of EAF steel shop with continuous casting.
1966: BOF & continuous casting used together at Lipetsk.
1983: Novolipetsk Iron & Steel Works renamed Novolipetsk Steel.
1991: Russia's first organic coating line commissioned at NLMK.
1992: NLMK is transformed into an open joint stock company.
1993: Privatisation of NLMK begins - employee ownership.
1997: Acquisition of OJSC Dolomit - dolomite processing.
1998: Vladimir Lisin becomes Chairman of the Board.
1999: Purchase of OJSC Stagdok, miner & processor of limestone.
2001: Commissioning of NLMK continuous hot dip galvanising line.
2004: Acquisition of Stoilensky GOK iron ore business.
2005: NLMK acquires license to develop Zhernovskoe-1 coal deposit.
2005: Successful listing on the London Stock Exchange.
2006: NLMK acquires DanSteel - Danish producer of thick plate.
2006: Purchase of entire share capital of Prokoyevskugol Coal.
2006: Buys Altai-koks [for 100% self-sufficiency in coke].
2006: NLMK acquires VIZ-Stal (electrical steel production).
2006: Creation of NLMK / Duferco Group joint venture.
2007: Acquisition by NLMK/Duferco JV of Sharon Coating in USA.
2007: NLMK acquires ~50% share in Maxi-Group.
2008: Purchase of Beta Steel - US-based manufacturer of HRC.
2009: Reorganisation and creation of NLMK Long Products subsidiary.
2011: Acqn of National Laminations: Indian electrical steel SSC.
2011: NLMK buys out Duferco steel joint venture for $600 million.
2012: NLMK Commissions new generation blast furnace #7.
2012: New 75kt/year cold rolling mill commissioned at VIZ-Stal.
2013: New 1.5 mt mini-mill opens at Kaluga, near Moscow.
2013: NLMK installs PCI at its blast furnaces at Novolipetsk.
2014: Cancels plan to raise $400m loan, as capex falls.
2015: Opens call centre for domestic and international clients.
2015: Commences work on new hot dip galvanising line [HDG-5] at Novolipetsk.
2016: Construction of Stoilensky 6 mt/year pelletizing plant.
2018: NLMK Group opens service center in South Africa.
2019: Launches 150 million Euro hot strip mill upgrade in Belgium.
2020: NLMK Group launches new collaborative startup portal.
2020: Opens R&D centre in Lipetsk for product innovation.
2021: Announces construction of greenfield electrical sheet steel plant in India.

Notes

Lipetsk plant was the first in the world in 1957 to adopt 100% continuous casting technology.
Up until December 1992, NLMK was a State-owned enterprise.
Purchase by NLMK in 2004 of Stoilensky GOK ensured the Company’s 100% self-sufficiency in iron ore.
2011 deal to purchase a 50% interest in Steel Invest and Finance ('SIF') from Duferco Group resulted in SIF becoming a 100% owned subsidiary of NLMK.
New 3.4 mtpy blast furnace #7 commissioned in July 2012 at a project cost of RUR 43 billion was the first blast furnace to have been built in Russia for 25 years.
VIZ-Stal is NLMK's electrical steel production plant, based in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
2014: NLMK cancelled its request for a syndicated loan of around $400 million after cutting its capital expenditure plans as EU and US sanctions against Russia started to bite, according to bankers' comments made in mid-2014.
2016: It took approx. 2 years to build the high-tech pellet plant facility at Stoilensky (Stary Oskol, in the Belgorod region). Work began in 2014 and required a total investment of ~$680 million (or 34 bn rubles). The new 6 mt/year pellet plant will enable NLMK Group to minimize its dependence on third-party pellet suppliers and will significantly reduce the cost of raw materials for the Lipetsk blast furnace operations.
2018: NLMK South Africa is to supply abrasion-resistant (NLMK Quard) and high-strength (NLMK Quend) thick plates produced at NLMK Clabecq in Belgium.
2019: NLMK La Louviere, a producers of flat steel coils in Belgium and an NLMK Group subsidiary, embarked on a 150 million Euro project to revamp its hot strip mill, expanding into production of thinner, stronger and more environmentally friendly steel. The investment is a part of the NLMK Group Strategy 2022. With this upgrade NLMK La Louviere will increase production from 1.7 mt to 2.2 mt by 2022; taking a bigger share of the EU HRC market. The hot strip mill upgrade includes investment in a state-of-the art automation system; three new and three upgraded roll mill stands; new drives and motors; as well as a new run-out table, modernized cooling and water systems.
2020: New NLMK start-up portal is a collaborative platform for metal industry developers to get hands-on peer reviews of new projects' business potential. The project focus is steelmaking efficiency, repair and maintenance practices, logistics, energy, environmental, and other processes relating to steel plant operations.
2020: New research and development laboratory will focus on microstructure analysis and facilitate the development of new steel grades and products for the automotive, energy and construction sectors.
2021: New electrical steel plant for production of grain-oriented steels in Maharashtra to be commissioned in the first half of 2022. The plant will have a finished steel capacity of approximately 64,000 tonnes per year.

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