Russian mining and steel company Severstal has obtained a certificate from GlobeCert AB, a Swedish company established for global certification of mainly reinforcing steel.
The new certification means Severstal, which exports about 10% of its rebar, will be able to expand its foreign sales volume and geography, especially within Scandinavia.
“The GlobeCert certification allows us to reach out to new consumers in the region able to provide profitability margin comparable to that we get in Russia,” said a Severstal spokeswoman.
The certificate confirms the compliance of rebar made by Severstal-owned Cherepovets Iron and Steel Works (CherMK) with NS 3576-3:2012, SS-EN 10080:2006 and SS 212540:2014 standards.
To provide the necessary mechanical properties to meet these standards, Severstal carried out several upgrades to rolling mill 250 at CherMK, which makes 10 mm-25 mm diameter rebar.
The certificate was awarded for rebar made in B500B, B500NC, K500V-T, K500S-T steel grades. It allows Severstal to sell the product in Sweden and Norway, as well as other Western European markets working under the same standards.
To date, Severstal has already been exporting rebar to Finland, Latvia and Germany, having previously obtained the respective required certification.
In the first half of 2020, the company sold a combined 38,000 mt to the three countries, up 2% year on year. The volume comprised 10% of its total rebar sales (373,000 mt) in the period.
“With exports usually less cost effective than sales domestically, where prices are higher and transportation expenses lower, we only target the closest and high margin markets,” the Severstal spokeswoman said. “Logistically and price wise, Northern Europe seems to be the most attractive of all export destinations.”
— Ekaterina Bouckley
