April is a significant month for the workers of cold rolling shop No.3. On 21 April 1963 construction of the first stage of the shop was carried out. After testing the unique mill “2800” 47 years ago the first products — high quality cold-rolled sheets — were produced.
It was a great event not only for the workers of the shop and the Works itself, but also for the whole Soviet metallurgy. The shop at Zaporizhstal was constructed according to the solution and under the personal control of the chief executives of the country, which was in extreme need of high quality cold-rolled sheets with the most complicated high technological properties and characteristics. This allowed to increase the production of special-purpose metal which was used for the needs of such advanced industries as: aviation — rocket — and machine-building industries and the defensive complex.
In April, but in 1976, the production of large-size ground and polished strips and plates started in the shop. A new department of polished strips equipped with high-precision equipment started functioning at full capacity. The surface finish of the rolled products was such that it could replace a mirror. Products produced in cold-rolling shop No.3 corresponded to the highest standards. Both the technical equipment and professionalism of the specialists who closely co-operated with representatives of the Central Laboratory of the Works and the Technical Department made this possible.
Celebrating yet another anniversary of the shop, the group of rollers is proud that it continues the traditions of its predecessors: constantly improves process engineering, increases the number of consumers and produces only high quality products. The qualitative index is first of all the fact that since 2006 the shop has received no recognized claims from the consumers, and the number of signals regarding quality in these three years and up to the present has decreased twice.
To provide stable work of the shop capital repair of the thermo pickling complex was carried out last year. This year it is planned to carry out capital repair of mill “2800” and to continue repair of the acid storehouse.
The shop collective to the full provides orders of regular consumers by increasing stage by stage the volume of sales of our products: the Minsk transport factory, the Minsk automobile works, Kremenchug wagon building plant, “Simferopolselmash” and many others. Export shipment has also increased. From 2007 to 2009 it has increased from 22.7 % to 33.7 %. And in the first quarter of 2010 this index has already gained 35 %.
Work on the search of new product sales markets and the increase of production volumes at the Works continues. This means that the collective of cold-rolling shop No.3, as well as all the workers of Zaporizhstal JSC, are confidently looking into the future.