TARGOVISTE, Romania, April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mechel OAO(NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announcesthat the walking-beam heating furnace of the medium-section mill at its MechelTargoviste Romanian subsidiary has been commissioned following itsreconstruction at the facility. The furnace reconstruction was performed inline with Mechel Targoviste's production capacities modernization programplanned for 2007-2011.
The walking-beam furnace is designed to heat billets before feeding themto the rolling mill, which manufactures finished products. The subsidiarymanufactures carbon and low alloy steel rolled products as well as forged andcalibrated products for machine building, automotive, hardware, bearing, andpipe producing industries.
Investments in the new project totaled about US$5.8 million. Theequipment was supplied by Techint (Tenova) of Italy, one of the world'spremier manufacturers of such equipment. Most of the construction andinstallation work was performed by Mechel Targoviste's specialists.
The furnace modernization will significantly increase the billets' range.Continuously cast billets have been expanded to a maximum sector of 150 . 180mm section, compared with the previous maximum of 140 . 140 mm. The newequipment will reduce utilization of the obsolete blooming technology, and thesubsidiary will start using, to the maximum extent possible, the billetsmanufactured at the continuous casting machine commissioned in March 2007after its reconstruction. The modernized furnace will heat billets moreevenly, thus improving the quality of the manufactured products. The newequipment will lead to more efficient consumption of natural gas and electricpower as well as refractories. Raw material consumption per tonne of thefinished products will also reduce significantly as well as volume of humanlabor will decrease due to the full automation of the furnace. Installation ofthe new equipment will reduce production repair and maintenance costs.
All recent equipment that was installed and reconstructed, complies withthe highest European standards in terms of quality and operation reliability.Mechel Targoviste plant is gradually turning into one of the leading steelmanufacturing enterprises in Eastern Europe.
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 RegardingForward-Looking Statements' in our Form 20-F, that could cause the actualresults to differ materially from those contained in our projections orforward-looking statements, including, among others, the achievement ofanticipated levels of profitability, growth, cost and synergy of our recentacquisitions, the impact of competitive pricing, the ability to obtainnecessary regulatory approvals and licenses, the impact of developments in theRussian economic, political and legal environment, volatility in stock marketsor in the price of our shares or ADRs, financial risk management and theimpact of general business and global economic conditions.
SOURCE Mechel OAO
