Kamensk-Uralsky Metallurgical Plant (KUMZ), part of the SUAL Group, one of the world’s top ten aluminium producers, completed the next stage of the modernisation of its hot rolling mill «Quarto — 2840», following an investment of over USD 7.8 million.

The first step of the mill rehabilitation, in which some USD 6 million was invested, was accomplished between 2000-2002, when KUMZ was incorporated into SUAL Group. The result was an improvement in the quality of hot rolled semi-finished products.

The 2003-2004 modernisation programme saw the replacement of an obsolete primary electric drive for the hot rolling mill with a modern and more powerful one. It streamlines the rolling process and so improves the mill efficiency the time required to roll bars is reduced and so mill productivity is improved. The new technology also allows the production of large-sized plates of up to 120 mm width and avoids the risk of plates opening or cracking during the rolling. Ultrasonic checks show that internal damage to the metal is significantly reduced after rolling using this new technology.

With this new electric drive, the range of large-sized plates that can be produced is expanded and the quality of the resulting products from the hot rolling mill is also improved. Along with the replacement of the electric drive, the mount rolls, desktops and manipulator lines on the side materials enter the mill were also replaced, resulting in further yet quality improvements to the milled products.

«The launch of an upgraded hot rolling mill at Kamesk-Uralsky Metallurgical Plant will generate substantial improvements in production efficiency and product quality. This is an important next step towards the realisation of our strategic goal — to increase SUAL’s value-added aluminium production», said Vladimir Skornyakov, Senior vice-president of SUAL Holding.

Alexey Shkolnikov, General Director of KUMZ, added: «The large-scale modernisation of our rolled aluminium production line is designed to facilitate the manufacture of products that conform with the ever increasing requirements of our domestic and international customers, in terms of both high quality products and improved production processes.»

SUAL Group

SUAL Group is a vertically integrated business and is among the ten largest aluminium producers in the world. SUAL comprises companies involved in bauxite mining, alumina refining, production of silicon, semi-finished and finished aluminium products.

Annually, the operations of the SUAL Group

• mine some 4.4 million tonnes of bauxite;
• refine more than 2 million tonnes of alumina;
• produce over 890,000 tonnes of primary aluminium;
• produce more than 50,000 tonnes of silicon;
• manufacture more than 110,000 tonnes of aluminium products.

Kamensk — Uralsky Metallurgical Plant (Kamensk-Uralsk, Sverdlovsk region) is SUAL Group's largest and Russia's second largest producer of value-added aluminium products. Today, the plant produces a wide range of products for the automobile, aviation and aerospace industries.