News El 6 Novosibirsk

Novosibirsk, 12 September 2019. Today the EPM-Novosibirsk electrode plant (EPM-NovEP, a subsidiary of EPM Group) held an official commissioning ceremony for a new EIRICH mixing plant as part of its 45th-anniversary celebrations.

Participants in the commissioning ceremony included Andrey Goncharov, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Development of Entrepreneurship of Novosibirsk Oblast; Stefan Eirich, EIRICH President; Victor Nechuyatov, EPM Group CEO; and, Aleksey Spektoruk, EPM-NovEP Managing Director.

The EIRICH mixing plant will be used to prepare mixtures for pressing premium-grade graphite electrodes. The new plant offers five times greater productivity than the old type of mixing plants. The project cost RUB 320 million to implement.

Andrey Goncharov, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Development of Entrepreneurship of Novosibirsk Oblast, noted: "The commissioning of the new mixing plant is an important development not just for the Novosibirsk electrode plant but for the entire industry. It's a great example of international cooperation in metal production and the machine-building industry and a sign of how confident Novosibirsk Oblast is when it comes to operating in international markets. EPM-NovEP is the most important local employer and the flagship of our region's economy. I think the launch of the new EIRICH mixing plant will open up new opportunities for the development of the facility and the Siberian industry as a whole."

EPM Group CEO Victor Nechuyatov stressed: "The commissioning of the new EIRICH mixing plant at the Novosibirsk Electrode Plant is a key investment project of the large scale investment program that EPM Group is implementing to boost the quality of graphite electrodes and their reliability in use. Through 2020, a total of RUB 1.5 billion is to be invested in EPM-Novosibirsk Electrode Plant."

EPM-NovEP Managing Director Aleksey Spektoruk noted: "All over the world, the paste from which UHP type electrodes are pressed is prepared in EIRICH intensive mixing plans, which deliver a better quality of raw materials. The new high tech equipment reduces the time it takes to mix and prepare the paste for pressing almost by half while increasing the total productivity of the pressing area to 10 tonnes per hour."

EIRICH President Stefan Eirich said: "The business relations between our two companies started about 10 years ago when we implemented a project at the Novocherkask electrode plant. Now, EPM-NovEP has introduced the world's most cutting-edge graphite electrode production technology. The plant can take pride in the fact that in the year of its 45th anniversary, it managed to complete such a major modernization project. The equipment was installed and configured for production in record time."

The contract between EPM Group and EIRICH to install the mixing plant was signed in March 2018. Total two EIRICH mixing plants are planned to be installed at EPM-NovEP by late 2019.