Contract wins with Russian giant continue to roll for Forgemasters

RUSSIA’S largest steel company, Severstal, has placed a £3m contract with Sheffield Forgemasters as the relationship between the two organisations continues to prosper.

The multi-million pound deal is for a range of steel work and back-up rolls which will be supplied to the steel giant’s plant in Cherepovets, Northwestern Russia.

The finished components, which can weigh up to 35 tonnes, will be used in cold rolling mills to roll steel sheets for domestic use such as car manufacturing and white goods.

Ken Brooks, senior sales manager at Sheffield-based Forgemasters, said: “This contract forms part of a three year development of business between Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited and Severstal which is worth £15.5m in total.

“We first began working with Severstal in 1999 and in that 13 years Forgemasters now supply more forged steel rolls to Severstal than any other roll maker.

“This new contract is testimony to the strength of our relationship as well as our position within the wider Russian steel market. Forgemasters is now responsible for providing 70% of Severstal’s entire forged steel roll requirement.”

The rolls will be produced using specialist techniques including forging each steel ingot and heat treatment – a process that exposes the rolls to temperatures from +940 degrees C to -40 degrees C to create highly specific hardness properties. 

The rolls will then be machine finished to within 0.05mm using computer controlled machine tools.

Severstal employs around 70,000 people and has assets in Russia, USA, the Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Italy, Liberia as well as investments in Brazil.