NLMK Group (LSE: NLMK), Russia’s leading manufacturer of steel and  one of the most efficient steel companies in the world, has announced the opening of its trade office in São Paolo (Brazil), and a logistics office in São Francisco do Sul (Brazil).

These representative offices will strengthen NLMK Group’s position both in the prospective Brazilian market itself and elsewhere in South America.

NLMK’s Brazilian office will offer premium steel products – abrasion-resistant Quard and high-strength Quend plates – to construction and mining equipment manufacturers. The use of Quard and Quend will enable Brazilian machinery manufacturers to significantly improve the operational and environmental performance of their products by reducing the weight of machine components without loss of strength. Alongside these grades, NLMK will supply plates with special dimensions made from high-strength steel to manufacturers of trailers, cranes and equipment for energy generation.

NLMK Group is currently in negotiations with a number of large machine-building companies in North and South America for the supply of high-quality NLMK plates. An agreement has already been reached to supply Quard 450 plates to one of the leading American manufacturers of abrasion-resistant components for mining and construction, as well as agricultural equipment and machinery. NLMK Quard 450 plates will be used to manufacture abrasion-resistant components for machinery for the sugar industry, one of the leading sectors of Brazilian economy.

Ilya Guschin, NLMK Group Vice President for Sales, said:

“Brazil has only one manufacturer that produces steel plates with characteristics similar to NLMK products. Growing requirements are being covered by imports. NLMK Group is able to boost the competitiveness of Brazilian machine-builders by supplying high-quality steel for components. Well-developed port and automotive infrastructure in the region allows us to optimize deliveries to consumers in Brazil and other South American countries.”

NLMK Group has 13 international service and trade centers, located in 10 countries on 3 continents. Their key function is to sell Company products and to process steel to suit client requirements. In 2012, NLMK opened new service and trade centers in Mumbai, the state of Pennsylvania in the USA, and in Singapore. 

NLMK Group Brazilian trade office contact info:

Business Area Manager of NLMK South America: Paulo Seabra
Tel.: +55 (11) 2977 5049
E-mail: p.seabra@eu.nlmk.com

About Quard & Quend

For over three years, NLMK Group has successfully sold abrasion-resistant Quard and high-strength Quend plates in Europe, North America, and the Far East, as well as in the CIS. Buyers of Quard and Quend plates include leading machine building companies.

Quard and Quend plates are produced from slabs supplied by the Company’s Lipetsk production site, using a unique technique involving quenching and tempering at NLMK’s Belgian Clabecq plant. This unique business model allows NLMK Group companies to expand their presence in the large European thick plate market, offering their clients a wide product mix and just-in-time delivery. The processing line for the production of Quard and Quend plates was launched in 2011. Total investments in the project exceeded EUR 100 million.

NLMK Group is planning to expand its range of premium Quard and Quend steel products in 2015 by adding Quard 550, Quend 1100 and Quend 1300. NLMK Plans to increase the total production volume of abrasion-resistant Quard plates and high-strength Quend plates to 150,000 tonnes per year.

Abrasion-resistant Quard plates (hardness 400HB, 450HB and 500HB – Quard 400, Quard 450 and Quard 500 respectively, with thicknesses ranging from 4 mm to 40 mm and widths from 1,500 to 3,100 mm) are designed for use in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, as well as for other types of special equipment and machinery (crushing and pulverizing machinery, excavators, dump trucks, bulldozers, hoppers, mixers, etc.), where the use of abrasion-resistant Quard steel may result in a 40% reduction of the weight of the structural component while increasing its volume by 5%, reducing fuel consumption, and reducing production costs by 45%.

High-strength Quend plates (tensile strength 700 MPa, 900 MPa and 960 MPa – Quend 700, Quend 900 and Quend 960 respectively, with thicknesses ranging from 4 to 50 mm and widths from 1,500 to 3,100 mm) are designed for use in the construction of bulk vehicle frames, bulk lifting and handling machinery, vehicle trailers, and other machinery where high structural strength is of the essence. The use of high-strength Quend plates reduces the weight of structural components by more than 20%, thus reducing the cost of production and increasing the performance of the machines.

For more information and technical data on Quard and Quend products, please visit our specialized websites www.quend.me and www.quard.me.

About NLMK Group

NLMK Group is a vertically integrated steel company and Russia’s leading steel maker and manufacturer of rolled products with high added value. NLMK’s high-quality metal products are used in various industries, from construction and engineering to the manufacture of power-generating equipment and offshore wind turbines.

NLMK's production assets are located in Russia, Europe, and the United States. The Company’s liquid steel production capacity is over 17 million tonnes per year, of which about 16 million tonnes are produced in Russia. The Company generated US$ 10.9 billion in revenue, and EBITDA of US$ 1.5 billion in 2013.

NLMK’s ordinary shares are traded on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MICEX-RTS, ticker symbol: NLMK), and its global depositary shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: NLMK:LI).

For more information about NLMK Group, please visit www.nlmk.com  

Media contact info:
Sergey Babichenko
+7 (916) 824 6743
babichenko_sy@nlmk.com 

Investor contact info:
Sergey Takhiev
+7 (495) 915 1575
tahiev_sa@nlmk.com