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Rusal's Kandalaksha plant to produce electrical wire rods
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
2 min read
The more than 60 year old Rusal smelter in Kandalaksha located in the southern part of the Murmansk Oblast shines bright in the Arctic landscape. The plant buildings look nicely renovated and the lawn separating the production facilities is as well kept as in the finest city park.
"We take prestige in our tidiness", company representative Vladimir Ilyusha says to BarentsObserver during a visit this September. "Colleagues from other Rusal units are envious at us, and even think that we exaggerate", he adds.
Still, behind the good-looking facade lures a difficult economic reality for the industrial plant. Since the financial crisis in 2008 shook up Russian economy, production has dropped sharply and job cuts have been massive. While the plant before 2008 employed 1500 it today has a staff of 900. Production has dropped from 77,000 tons to 69,000 tons, about 60 percent of which is exported and shipped out from the Murmansk Sea Port.
The future for the aluminum industry is uncertain, Ilyusha admits. While the company earlier bought good-quality anode material from Norwegian Hydro, it today acquires cheaper, but far worse-quality material from China. Similarly, the company is increasingly struggling with getting its needed electricity.
For the Kandalaksha plant the situation is however not all bleak. As a matter of fact, company representative Ilyusha is optimistic about the future. "We have a new project", he says to Barents Observer. The company is now investing in new technology enabling the plant to transform into a major producer or electrical wire rods. German and Italian equipment is being installed and the company will soon be able to offer the Russian market top-quality wires of nine different sizes. By 2015, the whole plant output will be transformed to the new production, which ultimately will reach 50,400 tons per year.
"With this new production, we will make profits", Ilyusha says confidently.
Rusal is the world's biggest producer of aluminum. The company accounts for about nine percent of the global primary aluminium output. It has company units in 19 countries and employs about 72,000 people. The company is based on a merger of SUAL, the former owner of the Kandalaksha plant, and the alumina assets of Glencore in 2007.
"We take prestige in our tidiness", company representative Vladimir Ilyusha says to BarentsObserver during a visit this September. "Colleagues from other Rusal units are envious at us, and even think that we exaggerate", he adds.
Still, behind the good-looking facade lures a difficult economic reality for the industrial plant. Since the financial crisis in 2008 shook up Russian economy, production has dropped sharply and job cuts have been massive. While the plant before 2008 employed 1500 it today has a staff of 900. Production has dropped from 77,000 tons to 69,000 tons, about 60 percent of which is exported and shipped out from the Murmansk Sea Port.
The future for the aluminum industry is uncertain, Ilyusha admits. While the company earlier bought good-quality anode material from Norwegian Hydro, it today acquires cheaper, but far worse-quality material from China. Similarly, the company is increasingly struggling with getting its needed electricity.
For the Kandalaksha plant the situation is however not all bleak. As a matter of fact, company representative Ilyusha is optimistic about the future. "We have a new project", he says to Barents Observer. The company is now investing in new technology enabling the plant to transform into a major producer or electrical wire rods. German and Italian equipment is being installed and the company will soon be able to offer the Russian market top-quality wires of nine different sizes. By 2015, the whole plant output will be transformed to the new production, which ultimately will reach 50,400 tons per year.
"With this new production, we will make profits", Ilyusha says confidently.
Rusal is the world's biggest producer of aluminum. The company accounts for about nine percent of the global primary aluminium output. It has company units in 19 countries and employs about 72,000 people. The company is based on a merger of SUAL, the former owner of the Kandalaksha plant, and the alumina assets of Glencore in 2007.
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