Inauguration of the electric steel mill of the steel company Antillana de Acero
The electric steel mill, which is considered the heart of the José Martí steel company, known as Antillana de Acero, was inaugurated this Thursday and is part of the total remodeling process in which this important Cuban plant is immersed Is.
Havana Cuba. – The electric steel mill, which is considered the heart of the José Martí steel company, known as Antillana de Acero, was inaugurated this Thursday and is part of the total remodeling process in which this important Cuban plant is immersed Has happened.
The renovation of this steel mill is part of a process of modernization and expansion of steel and long-rolled products production, undertaken by a Cuban company and financed by a loan from the Russian Federation.
Reinier Guillén Otero, general director of Antillana de Acero, explained that after many years of investment in the factory, it has been possible to repair everything from treatment plants, cargo ships, electric arc furnaces, ladle furnaces, casting machines continuously, and finished product warehouse, as well as the entire electrical part, the entire hydraulic structure, the entire automatic system, and the treatment of water received by the Electric Steelworks.
On the Russian side, Vadin Nikolayevich, general director of LLC Industrial Engineering Company, indicated that the complexity and specificity of the project is that more than 90% of all supplied equipment is fully manufactured in Russia. He said that the quantity of equipment and materials supplied is more than nine thousand tonnes.
This was a challenge as the Antilles were intensively modernized by the Soviet Union between the 1960s and 1990s, but many of these companies no longer exist or have lost their powers. This prompted us to rethink ourselves and acquire hi-tech modern equipment to revive the lost skills and manufacture high-end quality equipment.
More than 20 large Russian companies were involved in the process, and if all participants in the chain from production and distribution are taken into account, this figure rises to 60, he said.
The Cuban side attended the inauguration by the Commander of the Revolution and Deputy Prime Minister, Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, Ricardo Cabrisas, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, and Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian side.
In this UEB “Electric Steelworks” carbon steel billets will be produced. UEB director Omar Ramon Reyes Ricardo explained that these billets are used to roll and obtain corrugated bars, known as cabillas.
The steel mill has the capacity to produce 206,000 tonnes on a large scale, he added. The go-live was in April this year for the testing process and bug fixes, he explained.
Today is a very important day, as Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko described at the opening of the Electric Steel Plant and indicated that the result is a good example of cooperation between the two countries and the first project in these 20 years. is what Russia has done in this field of Cuban technology.
He added that the electric steel mill would provide metal to Cuban companies and also contribute to exports, which is why it is of great importance to the Cuban economy.
Dmitri Chernyshenko recalled the symbolism that the project holds for both countries, as many of Antillana de Acero’s machinery was produced in the former Soviet Union.
Industry Minister, Eloy Álvarez Martínez, assured that the start-up of the steel mill is an example of the successful materialization of economic, commercial, scientific and technological cooperation between Cuba and Russia.
Thus, we will start production of steel billets and by this we will be able to achieve significant economic impact for the company and the country apart from substituting imports, assured the minister.
Alvarez Martínez said that with the signing of the Protocol on Continuity of Credit by both governments, the parties in charge of its execution should prioritize construction and assembly investments, as well as the shipment of supplies according to the planned schedule. Which will allow the completion of the project with the start-up of the rolling mill in the year 2024, he concluded.
