Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant, one of the largest integrated steel production plants in the world (CherMK, part of the Severstal Russian Steel division), has put into commercial operation a ball rolling mill No. 3 (SHPS-3). The new equipment made it possible to master the production of grinding balls with a diameter of 80-100 millimeters. Such products are in demand among the enterprises of the mining and gold mining industry in Russia, as well as in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus - such as the Republic of Kazakhstan, Armenia, Tajikistan.

“Taking into account the new capacities, the CherMK equipment park includes three section mills for the production of grinding balls. Thanks to their configuration, we can cover a wide range of product ranges - from 20 to 100 millimeters. The launch of ShPS-3 already confirms its effectiveness. During its operation, the new unit made it possible to produce about 20 thousand grinding balls. The indicators of development and delivery of new types of products to our customers have also increased - according to the results of the first half of 2021, the production of long and tube sections at our metallurgical plant tripled assets Evgeny Vinogradov.

Severstal has experience in supplying grinding balls not only to enterprises in the Russian market, but also to neighboring countries. For example, by the end of 2020, the company quadrupled its sales of such products in diameters from 20 to 60 millimeters to enterprises in Kazakhstan. In 2021, for one of the gold mining enterprises in this country, Severstal carried out pilot deliveries of balls in a new range from 80 to 100 mm. Their volume amounted to more than two thousand tons. The quality of the grinding balls produced at CherMK helps to develop sales - in particular, their high resistance to the products of local manufacturers.

Severstal is strategically interested in reducing the share of basic conventional products - commodity, replacing them with more complex and at the same time high-margin assortment. The ongoing investment program at the enterprises of our company also responds to these trends. Updating the product line, mastering the products demanded by customers allow us to realize the potential of entering new markets - both in terms of their profile and geography. The expansion of the line of grinding balls, as a particular example, helped us to strengthen our position in the niche of the mining and gold mining industry, while developing supplies to neighboring countries. We intend to expand our presence with this product in other countries of Asia, Transcaucasia, including Tajikistan and Armenia. At the same time, we are interested in long-term relationships, comments Evgeny Chernyakov, Severstal's director for work with companies in the construction industry.