Governor of Chelyabinsk Region Petr Sumin met the General Director of Asha Metallurgical Works Vladimir Evstratov. The two executives looked into the enterprise’s current problems and tried to think of how to actually implement the company’s long-term investment projects targeted at modernization.

Evstratov said the first modernization stage was completed in 2006 when the new ladle furnace was launched; the second stage was carried out in 2007 when the new CC machine started operating at the plant. However, the outbreak of the global economic turmoil prevented the enterprise from going through with the final stage in 2009. This last stage presupposed the launch of the 120-ton electric steel furnace on April 15, 2009. This launch has had to be postponed because of the lack of resources, even though the Italian machinery is already sitting idle on the plant’s premises.

The Russian Federation Ministry for Economic Development is currently considering the plant’s application for being placed on the priority enterprises list. In case the decision is in their favor, the plant will be able to complete its production upgrade and thus build up on the quality and quantity of produce while reducing production costs. What is more, this would create more jobs and yield more taxes to all kinds of budgets, Evstratov says.

According to the spokesperson for the Governor, Petr Sumin agreed that the upgrade project needed to be completed as soon as possible. The Governor asked his deputies Vladimir Dyatlov and Yuri Klepov and Minister for Industry and Natural Resources Evgeniy Teftelev to see to this.