NLMK and OMK develop strategic partnership

The participants in the council meeting discussed joint projects aimed at improving production and logistics efficiency, as well as issues related to designing new steel grades for the making of large diameter pipes. It was also decided that an NLMK representative would permanently work on-site at Vyksa Steel Works (part of OMK) to improve the interaction between technical experts at both companies.

Meetings of the OMK and NLMK technical specialists are held regularly within the framework of a long-term contract for the delivery of NLMK slabs to Vyksa Steel Works. NLMK’s steel billets are used for making plates on Thick-Plate Mill 5000, which are then used to make large diameter pipes at pipe shop #4 at Vyksa Steel Works. In January 2015, NLMK and OMK prolonged the contract to include the year 2019.

“Since the start of its cooperation with OMK, the NLMK Group has delivered over 2.3 million tons of steel with special characteristics and dimensions for making large diameter pipes to be subsequently used for the country’s strategically important projects. The result of our cooperation not only shows successful import replacement, but also illustrates an efficient and mutually advantageous cooperation with the consumer within a common technological environment,” said Ilya Guschin, Vice President for Sales at NLMK Group.

In 2012, the NLMK and OMK Groups set up a unique Russian high-tech chain, from mining iron ore at Stoilensky GOK and making steel billets at the Novolipetsk Steel, to making wide plates and large diameter pipes at Vyksa Steel Works.

The breakthrough in steel quality was made possible after NLMK introduced an advanced degassing technology. Combined with modern wide plate and large diameter pipe production technologies used at Vyksa Steel Works, this ensures that the pipes meet global standards; this has been confirmed by the fact that OMK products are used in international pipeline projects.

“The cooperation between NLMK and OMP, which is based on a long-term contract with formula pricing, plays a significant role in supplying domestic production facilities with high-quality pipes. Today, we are able to fully meet the requirements for delivering pipes for strategic Russian pipeline projects, successfully replacing imports,” said Eduard Stepantsov, Head of the Commercial Department and Board Member at OMK.

The Lipetsk production facility is currently perfecting the technology for making concast slabs with super low sulfur and hydrogen content, thereby ensuring more precise parameters for alloying constituents and non-metallic inclusions. As a result, NLMK steel is ideal for making constructions used in aggressive environments and subjected to high loads, for instance, in offshore wind farms and oil/ gas sea platforms, ships or main pipelines, and in making special kinds of steel for niche segments, including wide plates with steel hardening and tempering, which the company is successfully selling through its representative offices around the world.