MINSK, 13 July (BelTA) – The Belarusian steel mill BMZ reduced merchandise export by 8% in H1 2020, BelTA learned from Dmitry Korchik, Director General of OAO BMZ – Management Company of the holding company Belarusian Metallurgical Company, at a press conference on 13 July.
According to the source, in H1 2020 BMZ export growth rate was close to 92% in physical terms. The reduction was attributed to the closure of a number of enterprises and the falling number of orders from automobile industry and oil industry.
Dmitry Korchik noted that the company operates steadily at present. “All the manufacturing facilities report a slightly reduced output but virtually at full capacity. We are well supplied with raw materials,” he said.
The company did not abandon its traditional markets amid the pandemic and steadily shipped quality products in the complicated conditions. “Judging from July dynamics, we see that orders for metal products from European automotive companies, primarily orders for metal cord, are on the rise,” he said.
Speaking about new products, Dmitry Korchik said that thanks to investments of the last few years the company can now provide new kinds of steel to meet rather exacting requirements of automobile manufacturers, primarily European ones. In his words, in 2019 the company mastered the production of about 265 new products. About 50 new products are going through the testing and certification process.
BMZ actively cooperates with academic institutions, in particular, the Belarusian National Technical University. “We have a college in Zhlobin, a branch of the BNTU. We offer jobs to all the young specialists, who graduate from the college. In 2017 BMZ was certified as a research institution. Over 260 BMZ specialists are involved in R&D,” the director general said.
The public joint-stock company (OAO) BMZ, the Management Company of the holding company Belarusian Metallurgical Company (BMC), is a high-tech Belarusian metallurgical enterprise. It comprises infrastructure shops and four manufacturing divisions that focus on steel smelting, mill products, pipe products, hardware items. BMZ exports more than 80% of its output every year.
