Chusovskoy Metallurgical Plant: history, products, prospects

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

JSC "Chusovskoy Metallurgical Plant" is one of the oldest steel productions in the Urals. Founded in the 19th century, for a long time it was the largest profile enterprise in the country. Today ChMP is the leader in the production of springs for vehicles.

Historical background

Founded in 1879, the Chusovoy Metallurgical Plant has become the pride of Russia. Equipped with the latest equipment for that time, it annually smelted millions of pounds of iron and steel. During the civil war, the enterprise was badly damaged, but the factory workers did not abandon their brainchild and, after the formation of Soviet power, restored the workshops.

In the 1930s, the Chusovoy Metallurgical Plant was entrusted with a responsible mission - to establish the production of spring steel for tractors and agricultural machinery. In appearance, this part does not seem the most complicated, but in its manufacture a metal is used that has outstanding characteristics. Its smelting requires a high production culture, appropriate equipment and knowledge of the "secrets" of materials science.

BIn 1935, blast furnace No. 3 was put into operation. Its volume of 280 m3 was a record not only for the USSR. In 1936 the factory workers received the first ferrovanadium in the country. The Great Patriotic War demanded an increase in production. In 1943, a new blast furnace was built in seven months, which tripled iron smelting.

Today, every second Russian car has springs from ChMZ. The Chusovoy Metallurgical Plant, whose photo is striking in the size of the production area, is part of the largest industrial group OMK (United Metallurgical Company). The production is located in the heart of the Ural Mountains, close to the raw material base and energy sources.

Chusovsky springs

Along with metal products (long steel and cast iron), the plant has been producing springs for motor vehicles since 1973. Today, the CMP autospring workshop is a large-scale production, which overshadows similar European enterprises in terms of production volume.

Products of the Ural steelmakers meet the requirements of both domestic and foreign standards. Chusovoy Metallurgical Plant is certified according to ISO9001/2008, and the spring production itself was certified according to ISO/TS16940 in 2011.

Personnel policy is focused on attracting young people, educating a generation of "workers of the future" who are able to quickly retrain and master related areas of work. They try to create decent conditions for them.labor, organize leisure activities, guarantee modern medical care.

Advanced technology

An important feature of the technological process of manufacturing springs is a complete production cycle: from iron smelting to assembly of products. ChMP specializes in the production of rolled products from specialized steel grades. It is not for nothing that the steel strips of the plant are used by most spring enterprises in the Russian Federation and the CIS.

In 2003, the Chusovoy Metallurgical Plant mastered the production of innovative springs of increased durability, obtained using the technology of bulk-surface hardening. Only a few companies in the world are able to produce these products using the BPF technology. The new development made it possible to reduce the weight of the spring by 30%, and double the service life - up to 200,000 km. Most models of the automaker KamAZ are equipped with elastic elements produced using the OPF.

Modernization

Continuous investment in production has enabled the commissioning of mills and rolled products for parabolic spring blanks, a high-tech thermal line with quick changeover dies, and a new painting line. The operation of the equipment is controlled by automated computerized complexes.

Every few years the material and technical base is modernized. This allows ChMP to offer consumers more than 500 types of spring products. Among the clients of the Chusovoy plant are the largest automakers in the country. The nomenclature for foreign cars is also being actively developed.

Products

Today at ChMZ release:

• Springs for trucks, trolleybuses, buses, minibuses, off-road vehicles, special vehicles.
• Cast iron (vanadium, complex-alloyed, conversion, refined).
• Ferrovanadium.
• Vanadium pentoxide.
• Metal rolling.
• Sinter.

Chusovskoy Metallurgical Plant - reconstruction

The rapid growth of gas and oil production in the 2000s required significant volumes of modern pipe products. The government and OMK planned a large-scale reconstruction, which involved the reorientation of significant capacities to the production of seamless pipes. Initially, ChMP was supposed to produce up to 400,000 tons of rolled pipes, with a subsequent increase in volumes up to 500,000 tons annually.

The project was launched in 2012 and was supported by the administration of the Perm Territory. The investment portfolio was estimated at 50 billion rubles. Organizational work was actively carried out, equipment suppliers were determined. Part of the workshops were dismantled to clear the area. However, the sanctions of 2015, the weakening of the ruble, and the change in market conditions contributed to the freezing of the ambitious project.