BY KERIM ULKER
Russia’s biggest steel company Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK), will start manufacturing hot rolled steel in Turkey, a project which was on hold since 2012. The announcement by MMK CEO Pavel Shilyaev came at a time while the political tension between Moscow and Ankara since 2016 is still effective on economic relations, which was lately seen in tourism.
MMK, which entered the Turkish market in 2010 with a USD 2.3bn investment, currently operates with its galvanized steel and painted metal production plants under MMK Metalurji name in Hatay and Kocaeli. The preparations for the hot rolled steel facility, which will have 2-million-ton annual capacity, has already started, Shilyaev said.
MMK Metalurji has a 750,000-ton cold rolling facility, 900,000 tons of galvanizing line and a 400,000-ton color coating line at its production plants. The company rank 62nd at the Top 500 industrialists list of Istanbul Chamber of Industry.
MMK Metalurji has a total turnover of TRY 3bn, which employs 1,163 people in the country. Meanwhile, the global turnover of MMK reaches USD 8bn. The company is considered as one of the 30 largest steel company of the world.
MMK is owned by Russian Oligarch Viktor Filippovich Rashnikov, who is also known with his close ties with Putin. Rashnikov’s personal fortune totals USD 13.1bn, while he also owns Ocean Victory, one of the largest superyachts in the world.
