Rusal's eastern plants to boost premium product output to 37% in 2012
KRASNOYARSK. Nov 2 (Interfax) - The smelters in Rusal's Aluminum Division East plan to increase production of high added-value products to 37% of total output, or to 1.3 million tonnes, division head Vladimir Polin told Interfax.
"Projects to develop casting facilities are now being carried out at all of the division's plants. The Krasnoyarsk and Bratsk smelters are implementing a project to expand production of sheet ingots, the Sayangorsk and Novokuznetsk smelters are expanding production of extrusion billets, and the Irkutsk smelter is working on a project to expand production of wire rods," Polin said.
He said premium products are targeted to expand to 57% of total production by 2015, and to 66% by 2020.
The Division East plants are expected to produce 1.19 million tonnes of high value-added products in 2011, which is about 34% of anticipated total production at these plants.
The division plans to purchase new equipment, including LIMCA analyzers of inclusion content of aluminum melts, casting tables for production of extrusion billets of various diameters, and spectral analysis equipment in order to improve quality control.
Polin said the casting division of the Irkutsk Aluminum Smelter has already launched devices that analyze hydrogen content in melts and the purity of metal online. "Using this equipment will enable the plant to manufacture new types of products and expand its markets," he said.
The Aluminum Division East includes Rusal's core plants: the Krasnoyarsk, Sayanogorsk, Khakassia, Novokuznetsk, Bratsk and Irkutsk aluminum smelters. The division produced 3.454 million tonnes of aluminum in 2010, and Rusal has targeted output to increase by 2% in 2011.