Name: History of Severstal
Creator: Steelonthenet.com
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Keywords: History, Severstal, Russia, Cherepovets Metallurgical Kombinat, ChMK, Karelskiy Okatysh, Alexey Mordashov, acquisition, Rouge Steel, Lucchini, Severcorr, Izhorsk Pipe Mill, Carrington Wire, Vorkutaugol, Alexander Shevelev, Ventall Steel Solutions, A Group Corporation

History of Severstal Group

Severstal is a leading vertically integrated steel and steel related mining company. Producing ~10.7 million tonnes of crude steel, Severstal ranked as the #42 steelmaker in the world in 2022.

The timeline below covers the history of the firm.

1930: Concept emerges for building steel plant in NW Russia.
1939: Construction of the works postponed - World War II.
1947: Construction of a steel fabrication shop commences.
1954: In-house power generation plant commences operation.
1955: Production of cast iron commences blast furnace #1.
1956: Production start-up of Cherepovets coke plant.
1956: Commissioning of blast furnace #2.
1958: First steel ingot is cast.
1959: Blooming mill commissioned in January 1959.
1960: ChMK commissions No 1 hot strip mill [supplied by NKMZ].
1963: ChMK commissions No 1 14-stand light long product mill.
1963: ChMK commissions No 1 tandem 4-high cold rolling mill.
1969: ChMK begins operation of an electric arc furnace.
1975: Commissioning of Mill 2000 continuous hot-rolling mill.
1993: State Enterprise ChMK registered as Severstal Joint Stock Co.
1994: Acquisition of the Karelskiy Okatysh ore mines.
1995: Acquisition of Olenegorskiy mining & processing plant.
1996: Alexey Mordashov appointed Severstal Group CEO.
2001: Severstal environment management system certified.
2003: Acquisition of coal mining assets in Komi Republic.
2003: Severstal moves to adoption of IAS accounting standards.
2004: Purchase of steelmaking and finishing assets of Rouge Steel.
2005: Takes 62% controlling interest in Italian firm Lucchini.
2005: Wheeling-Pitts JV for 1 mt/yr coke plant at Follansbee, WV.
2005: Additional 7.9% equity in Lucchini purchased for ~€ 61m.
2005: Formation of Severstal Columbus, also known as Severcorr.
2006: Commissioning of new ERW pipe facility at Izhorsk.
2006: Acquires 60% ownership in Dneprometiz for US$ 33 million.
2006: Severstal shares listed on the London Stock Exchange.
2006: Severstal - Arcelor galvanised sheet jv [Severgal] commences.
2006: Purchase of 100% of UK wire firm CWL for GBP 14.2m.
2006: Purchase finalised of controlling stake in Severstal Mash.
2008: Severstal International formed from N Am & European assets.
2009: BF#3 making 1.6mt pig iron replaced with 1.7mt BF#3 rebuild.
2010: Launch of second zinc coating line at Cherepovets Steel Mill.
2010: MoU signed with NMDC for greenfield 3mt Karnataka works.
2010: Steel stamping and SSC JVs set up in Grabtsevo.
2011: Investment in new colour-coating line in Cherepovets.
2011: Sale of Warren, Wheeling & Sparrows Point assets to Renco.
2012: New Air Liquide air separation unit at Cherepovets site.
2012: Pre-feasibility completed - Putu iron ore reserves in Liberia.
2012: Scoping study completed - Amapa iron ore mine, Brazil.
2012: New coal face commissioned - Komsomolskaya Mine.
2013: New EAF mini-mill in Balakovo for construction sector rebar.
2013: Severstal cancels NMDC jv for new steel plant in India.
2013: Severstal completes sale of StalTrans to Freight One.
2014: Sales of North American assets to AK Steel/Steel Dynamics.
2015: Commissioning expected of BOF shop secondary dedusting.
2015: Announces that CEO Mordashov is to step aside, take Chairman role.
2016: Alexander Shevelev appointed as CEO.
2016: Putu Mining subsidiary shuts down its activities in Liberia.
2016: Restarts modernised Cherepovets 4-stand cold rolling mill.
2017: Completion of Redaelli Tecna sale.
2018: Signs JV agreement to produce steel towers for wind turbines.
2019: Severstal announces sale of mini-mill Balakovo.
2020: Sets up Severstal / Tenaris welded pipe joint venture.
2020: Ponders purchase of Liskimontazhconstruktsia steel pipe.
2020: Ramps up IT and digital investments.
2020: Completes acquisition of two powder metallurgy businesses.
2021: Acquires 20% stake in Russian construction pipe plant.
2021: Agrees with Russkaya Energiya to sell coal asset Vorkutaugol.
2022: Signals intent to commence HBI production in 2024 or beyond.
2022: Europen Union imposes export restrictions on Severstal.
2022: Russia-Ukraine tensions trigger multiple board-level resignations.
2022: Tenaris abandons Severstal JV for production of welded pipe.
2022: US imposes sanctions against Severstal and Alexey Mordashov.
2022: Olenegorsky GOK starts ore extraction at Pechegubsky iron ore deposit.
2022: Requests cancellation of GDR listing on London Stock Exchange.
2023: Sells European steel distribution network, Severstal Distribution, to Marcegaglia.
2024: Acquires Ventall Steel Solutions, a metal structures production business.
2024: Acquires steel distribution business of A Group Corporation in Russia.

Notes

1930: Steel plant concept emerged from the discovery of Kola Peninsula iron ore reserves and Pechora River coal deposits. The chosen site for the new plant was Cherepovets, as this was equidistant from Moscow and St. Petersburg.
1955: With commencement of hot metal production, August 1955 is considered to be the founding date of the Cherepovets Steel Mill.
1959: By the late 1950s, Cherepovets steel plant had become a fully integrated iron and steel works with electrical power generation, blast furnaces, converters, an ingot shop, blooming and rolling mills fully operational.
1963: ChMK denotes Cherepovets Metallurgical Kombinat.
2003: Severstal purchased the Vorkutaugol coal mines and took over ownership of the coking coal mines of Kuzbassugol [after splitting up the former mining assets of MDM (in which Severstal had acquired a half share in 2001) into coking and steam coal mines respectively].
2004: Rouge Steel was the former steel plant of the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn Michigan – which had been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Severstal paid ~$260 million in cash and assumed ~$113 million of liabilities.
2005: Prior to the acquisition by Severstal of a majority stake, Lucchini had been active in Central Europe and had acquired and modernised the Warszawa minimill, the first major steel investment in a former Comecon country by an EU producer. In 2004 however Lucchini was having problems repaying the bond with which it had financed its investment in Huta Warszawa, and sold the Warszawa mill to Arcelor.
2005: Severstal Columbus LLC [formerly known as SeverCorr Corporation], was founded in April 2005 by a team of steel executives including former Nucor CEO John Correnti. The SeverCorr facilities included an EAF steelmaking plant, with a state-of-the-art CSP plant comprising a thin slab caster and a six-stand hot rolling mill.
2006: Severstal Mash owns and operates engineering, machine-building and repair and maintenance companies that serve the Russian steel-making sector. Operations include SSM-Tyazhmash SVS, OAO Domnaremont and OAO Metallurgremont.
2006: Dneprometiz produces steel wire and other metalware products at production facilities located in Ukraine.
2006: CWL also known as Carrington Wire Limited. In 2010, Severstal decided that CWL was no longer viable and closed the business down.
2008: Severstal structure modified with the creation of three divisions: Severstal Russian Steel, Severstal Resources & Severstal International.
2012: Putu iron ore reserves in south east Liberia are thought to comprise ~3.2 billion tonnes of hematite / magnetite with 34% Fe content. The reserves are 61.5% Severstal-owned and 38.5% Affero-owned.
2012: Amapa iron ore reserves are thought to comprise 0.5-1.5 billion tonnes of magnetite with ~40% Fe content. The reserves are 25% Severstal-owned and 75% SPG Mineracao-owned.
2012: Battle over control erupts with India's NMDC for proposed greenfield steel plant in Karnataka.
2013: Severstal joint venture with NMDC [India's largest iron-ore producer] for new Karnataka steel mill cancelled August 2013 because of 'difficult business conditions'.
2013: September 2013 sale of StalTrans involved the transfer to Freight One of Severstal's rail freight assets and the transfer of freight transport assets from Severstal's key mining subsidiaries Vorkutaugol and Karelskiy Okatysh. The total consideration for this transaction was US $160m.
2014: July 2014 announcement made of sale of the Dearborn plant to AK Steel and of Columbus to Indiana-based Steel Dynamics.
2015: Severstal announced in April 2015 that Chief Executive Alexey Mordashov - who joined Severstal in 1988 - would step down from his position and seek election as Chairman of the company's board of directors.
2016: Putu Iron Ore Mining Co Inc was a 100%-owned subsidiary of Severstal which was granted a license for mining iron ore in Liberia's Putu Mountain Range in mid-2014. Putu's closure in early 2016 is understood to have been caused by a number of factors, including the low level of iron ore prices.
2016: Modernisation of Cherepovets cold rolling mill - a Ruble 3 billion investment project - also involved a 200kt capacity expansion of this facility.
2017: In May, the company announced that its subsidiary JSC Severstal–Metiz [Severstal's international metalware manufacturer] had completed the sale of Redaelli Tecna S.p.A. The transaction amount was 50 mln Euro.
2018: Wind tower JV (a venture involving Severstal, RUSNANO and Windar Renovables) to be called WRS Bashni, LLC, with tower construction to be in the Rostov Region. The wind energy equipment will be installed as part of a government programme to develop and stimulate the generation of renewable energy sources in Russia (RES).
2019: Severstal in May 2019 announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with the Abinsk Electric Steel Works for the sale of mini-mill Balakovo. The consideration of the transaction was to be $215 million. Mini-Mill Balakovo has an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes of profiled iron for building materials (reinforcement steel, angles, channels). It produces a broad range of 40 different long products. The mill has produced over three and a half million tonnes of steel products since first launch. Abinsk Electric Steel Works LTD (ASW) was founded in 2010, when it became the first ferrous metallurgy business in the Kuban region of Russia.
2020: Welded pipe jv with Tenaris is for production of ~300 kt / year of pipe at a greenfield location in Yugra, Russia. Plant construction was expected to start at the end of year 2020.
2020: Liskimontazhconstruktsia was registered in Voronezh region in 1996. Press reports in February 2020 suggested that the steelmaker had commenced negotiations to acquire this manufacturer of steel pipe.
2020: Severstal 2020 IT investments are to centre on production planning and control, and on product certification. Adoption of a new generation of the SAP ERP business management system within the Company's different divisions, as well as the further development of Severstal's online trading store, are also planned.
2020: In March 2020 Severstal completed the acquisition of Sintez-CIP Ltd and Sintez PP Ltd, owners of the only producer of carbonyl iron powders in the CIS region. Sintez is based in Dzerzhinsk, in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
2021: In April 2021, Severstal took a 20% stake in the Nizhne-Volzhsky Pipe Plant (NVTZ), a large pipe enterprise located in Volzhsky in the south of Russia. NVTZ supplies ~60% of the construction pipe market in the Southern Federal District.
2021: Agreement with Russkaya Energiya to sell coal asset Vorkutaugol is part of Severstal decarbonisation strategy. The deal is expected to be completed in early 2022.
2022: Purpose of commencement of DRI / HBI production at Severstal is the reduction of the firm's carbon footprint. This strategy aligns with the company's plans to sell of the Vorkutaugol coal business, which was announced in late 2021.
2022: The EU imposed restrictive measures against a number of Russian entrepreneurs and their businesses on 28th February. These included Alexey Mordashov, the majority shareholder of SeverstalUsmanov.
2022: Four board-level resignations to take place in March 2022 because of the geopolitical situation included Sakari Tamminen, Philip Dayer and Aline Bowen, as well as Agnes Ritter.
2022: Tenaris joint venture had been for production of OCTG pipe. Tenaris held a 49% stake in the venture and Severstal had 51% ownership. The project was intended to produce 300,000 tonnes of welded pipe per year, with investment estimated at $280 million; but was abandoned in April because of the Russia-Ukrainian conflict and in view of the the imposition of EU and UK sanctions against Severstal's controlling shareholder, Alexey Mordashov.
2022: Sanctions imposed by the US authorities in early June covered Alexey Mordashov and firms associated with the businessman and his family – including Severstal, Severgroup and Nordgold.
2022: Olenegorsky GOK is controlled by Severstal - it also operates five open-pit mines and one underground iron ore mine.
2023: Severstal Distribution was to be renamed Marcegaglia Baltics after the sale.
2024: Ventall Steel Solutions operate production sites in the Kaluga and Tula regions, as well in Cherepovets.
2024: A Group Corporation has a network of metal centers in Russia that includes 24 warehouses. The distribution firm's shipments in 2023 amounted to ~1.2 million tonnes.

Back to Knowledge Base Index

Related Links
Severstal News
History of Evraz
History of NLMK

History of the Severstal Group.

History of Severstal Group