VIZ-Stal commissioned new box annealing furnace

Commissioning of eight Box Annealing Furnaces will be realized step-by-step, and is tentatively to be over by the year-end after guarantee tests.

The project implemented together with the German LOI Thermprocess amounts to about RUR 940 mln.

VIZ-Stal (member of steel holding NLMK Steel) is a leading producer of cold-rolled electrical steel and Russia`s largest producer of grain-oriented steel. In 2007 VIZ-Stal started the Technical Upgrade Program estimated until 2015. The Program includes 10 investment projects on erecting new equipment and revamping the existing one, contributing to 50% upgrading of VIZ-Stal production facilities. The revamping within the Technical Upgrade Program aims at mastering HiB steel, quality improvement and production efficiency increase. VIZ-Stal`s own technical upgrade investments will amount to over RUR 8.4 bln (RUR 2.4 bln already spent in 2007-2009).