MOSCOW, April 3, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL),one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces that its hassigned a partnership agreement with Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche S.p.A.for the implementation of reconstruction and development projects for Mechel'ssteel subsidiaries.
Danieli, an Italian-based world leader in developing technologies andmanufacturing equipment for steel production, and Mechel OAO have signed athree-year partnership, which follows a successful working relationship overthe past few years. According to the agreement, Danieli will provide Mechelwith engineering and technical support to assist the implementation ofMechel's development plans and ensure its competitive advantages.
The agreement becomes the basis for Danieli's work to modernize andre-equip Mechel's subsidiaries, including Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant,Russia; Mechel Targoviste, Romania; and Mechel Campia Turzii, Romania.
Danieli was selected as the equipment and technology provider on acompetitive basis. Under the agreement, the partners plan to conduct seniorexecutive meetings on a regular basis to identify areas of cooperation,jointly consider development plans, and discuss further measures based onMechel's priorities. Regular visits of specialists of each of the companies todiscuss technical aspects of developing the projects are also planned. Danielispecialists will be engaged in preliminary engineering for reconstruction anddevelopment projects to improve efficiency surrounding preparation anddecision making on such projects.
'We have been successfully working with Danieli for a long time, and nowwe have fortified our reliable partnerships. Danieli's equipment alreadyoperates well at our subsidiaries, specifically two continuous billet castingmachines at Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant. We are pleased to move to ahigher level of cooperation with a world-class engineering and technologyleader such as Danieli. We are confident that further cooperation between ourcompanies will help us reduce costs and improve performance efficiency in oursteel segment through the implementation of modern steel melting and castingtechnologies and modernization of our rolling production,' Mechel ManagementOOO Chief Executive Officer Vladimir Polin commented.
Mechel is one of the leading Russian companies. Its business includesthree segments: mining, steel, and power. Mechel unites producers of coal,iron ore concentrate, nickel, steel, rolled products, hardware, heat andelectric power. Mechel products are marketed domestically and internationally.
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections orother forward-looking statements regarding future events or the futurefinancial performance of Mechel, as defined in the safe harbor provisions ofthe U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to cautionyou that these statements are only predictions and that actual events orresults may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements. Werefer you to the documents Mechel files from time to time with the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 20-F. These documentscontain and identify important factors, including those contained in thesection captioned 'Risk Factors' and 'Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements' in our Form 20-F, that could cause the actual results todiffer materially from those contained in our projections or forward-lookingstatements, including, among others, the achievement of anticipated levels ofprofitability, growth, cost and synergy of our recent acquisitions, the impactof competitive pricing, the ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvalsand licenses, the impact of developments in the Russian economic, politicaland legal environment, volatility in stock markets or in the price of ourshares or ADRs, financial risk management and the impact of general businessand global economic conditions.
SOURCE Mechel OAO
