8 September 2015
A tar distillation shop was commissioned at Metinvest Group's Avdiivka Coke Plant. An electrode pitch granulation and packing line was restarted.
The shop was stopped about a month ago due to unstable power supply at the plant as a result of continuous shelling. The ceasefire made it possible for electricity specialists to repair three of four high voltage inputs that feed Avdiivka Coke Plant.
The tar distillation shop makes seven types of products that have a high cost and are in high demand by Ukrainian and international companies. The key product of the shop is electrode pitch (liquid and granulated). It is used in non-ferrous metallurgy. Avdiivka Coke currently supplies pitch to aluminium plants located in the CIS, Europe and Africa.
The tar distillation shop was stopped due to the severe damage that Avdiivka Coke sustained as a result of shelling. The shop was shutdown for more than eight months. The resumption in operation of the equipment helped save the jobs of 100 employees at the plant.
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Avdiivka Coke Plant is Europe’s largest high-tech coking plant. The plant makes 31 types of products. It has customers in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Georgia, Belgium, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Egypt. Its key products are blast furnace coke, electrode pitch coke, and crude benzene. Avdiivka Coke makes 23% of Ukraine’s bulk coke. The plant produced 3.3 million tons of bulk coke (6% moisture content) in 2013. The plant runs eight coke oven batteries, with a designed capacity of 6.87 million tons of bulk coke per year. The enterprise is self-sufficient in terms of energy resources, including process steam, heating and electricity. Avdiivka Coke produces more than 50% of blast furnace coke with an advanced and environmentally friendly dry quenching process. Avdiivka Coke received a certificate for actively participating in the implementation of environmental policy at the regional level at the “Ecology in an Industrial Region” second international environmental forum by the National Environmental Protection Administration in Donetsk Oblast in 2012. Avdiivka Coke, together with the Shakhtar Football Club opened a football school for children in Avdiivka; the school currently has 60 students.
Metinvest Group is a vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies that manages every link of the value chain, from mining and processing iron ore and coal to making and selling semi-finished and finished steel products. It has steel and mining production facilities in Ukraine, Europe and the US, as well as a sales network covering all key global markets. Metinvest Group is structured into Metallurgical and Mining Divisions. Its strategic vision is to become the leading vertically integrated steel producer in Europe, delivering sustainable growth and profitability resilient to business cycles and providing investors with returns above industry benchmarks. The Group reported revenue of USD 1.8 billion and an EBITDA margin of 19% in the first quarter 2015.
The major shareholders of Metinvest B.V. (the holding company) are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), which partner in the Group’s management.
Metinvest Holding, LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.