Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works has signed an agreement of intent and cooperation with Turkey’s Coskunoz Holding Group.

A formal signing ceremony for the deal between Turkey's largest manufacturer of automotive components and stamping equipment and Russia's leading producer of rolled metal products took place at the head office of Coskunoz Holding in Bursa, Turkey.

The agreement opens new opportunities for the companies’ collaboration in both Turkey and Russia, providing opportunities for the development of hot stamping production in Russia, as well as for the implementation of joint engineering research and work on prototyping of stamped products from new generation steel, developed by MMK. Cooperation between the companies will strengthen the position of both parties in the Russian market.

MMK and Coskunoz already have a successful joint business in Russia: the Service Metal Centre (SMC) of MMK-Coskunoz-Alabuga LLC operates on Alabuga Special Economic Zone territory in the Republic of Tatarstan. Launched in May 2018, the plant produces steel billets (blanks) used in creating components for cars and appliances. MMK-Coskunoz-Alabuga LLC is a successful example of business integration at all stages of the production process: from raw material production to finished product output and steel localisation in Russia.

Pavel Shilyaev, CEO of MMK, noted the importance of MMK's strategic partnership in the automotive industry with Coskunoz, which has many years of experience in manufacturing stamping tooling and prototype parts. MMK's share in the total supply of steel products to Russian car manufacturers is more than 50%, and the Company plans to expand its product line for the automotive industry and other industrial sectors as part of further cooperation with Coskunoz.

CEO of Coskunoz Holding Erdem Adjay, commenting on the cooperation agreement said: "Russia is a strategically important region for Coskunoz’s positioning in global markets. MMK has serious investments in Turkey and great development potential. The partnership with MMK, the strongest player in the market, and our mutual synergy will enable Coskunoz to strengthen its position in the Russian automotive industry market".

Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works is one of the world's largest steel producers and holds leading positions among Russian steel companies. The Company's assets in Russia represent a large steelmaking complex with a full production cycle, from preparation of iron ore to production of downstream products. MMK produces a wide range of steel products with a predominant share of premium products. In 2020, MMK Group produced 11.6 million tonnes of steel and sold 10.8 million tonnes of steel products. MMK Group’s revenue for 2020 was $6.935 billion, EBITDA - $1.492 billion.

Coskunoz Holding combines 13 companies in the automotive, defence and aviation, ecology, information technology and logistics sectors. The Company invests abroad to increase its global presence. In addition to Turkey and Russia, the Company produces automotive components in Romania. To date, Coskunoz has invested a total of EUR 60 million in the Russian economy and plans to make EUR 15 million worth of additional investments by the end of 2022.