Sergei Nosov

The large-diameter pipes production plant in Nizhny Tagil will supply the following main products:
– pipes of 720 to 1420 mm in diameter for gas and oil pipelines;
– steel plates of 7 to 80 mm and width of more than 2.5 m.
The project’s recoupment period – 5 years after the complex commissioning.

    Within the framework of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s official visit to Germany in April there was a meeting of business people from both countries. Important economic decisions reached at the talks of the two heads of state, in particular on Russian debts to Hermes insurance agency, served as a solid ground for further developing partnership relations. Mutual agreements will permit to considerably raise volumes of investments in Russian enterprises.
Undoubtedly, among the immediate investment projects is the construction of a large-diameter pipes production plant (ZTBD) in the city of Nizhny Tagil (the Urals). ZTBD’s general director Sergei Nosov, who accompanied Putin on his trip, signed a contract on shipping of equipment for a sulfur removal installation, the first unit in the steel-rolling-pipes technological chain. The contract will be financed by the investment credit from Bayerische Landesbank with Hermes being a guarantor.
After getting back from Germany Sergei Nosov provided Eurasian Metals magazine with the following information on the agreements as well as on the progress with the project’s implementation:
– Nizhny Tagil’s large-diameter pipes production plant is the largest investment and innovation project. Its economic efficiency and investment attractiveness can significantly raise the competitiveness of the Russian metallurgy on both the domestic and foreign markets.
As is known, the Gazprom company is one of the ZTBD JSC’s shareholders. We regard the participation of the main consumer of the future enterprise’s products as a key to success of such an extensive construction project. What is more, in this case the interest is mutual. We think that a guaranteed supply of high-quality pipes made in Russia will increase Gazprom’s chances in competition for the largest gas pipeline projects on the world’s market.
In March 2002 Gazprom transferred 238.8 million rubles (about $7.7 million) to pay for its 19.9% stake in ZTBD JSC. Thus, the new enterprise’s ownership capital is completely formed.
This fact testifies to Gazprom’s preferential attitude to our project since the company’s leaders decided to concentrate their investment programs on putting money into assets of related business. So, the gas monopolist has demonstrated its support of the most significant investment project of the last years, which is a component of the economic policy conducted by the president and government of Russia. It can have much influence on the economic and social dynamics of entire industries and regions of the country.
Signing a long-term agreement with Gazprom will be the next key stage. The plant’s leaders need this agreement in their relations with investors, financial, legal and engineering consultants as well as with Western banks and insurance agencies. We are planning to sign this year the final version of the contract on guaranteed shipments of pipes to Gazprom for a period till 2017. Volumes of guaranteed supplies will account for about 50% of Gazprom’s predicted need for pipes of large diameter.

P R O F I L E Sergei Nosov General director of the Nizhny Tagil integrated iron-and-steel mill (NTMK), 41 years old. He was born in the city of Magnitogorsk, where his grandfather, Grigory Nosov, headed the country’s largest integrated iron-and-steel mill from 1940 to 1951. The grandfather was called "Russia’s steel king". Sergei’s father, Konstantin Nosov, was also a metallurgist. When he was 22, Sergei Nosov graduated from an institute and went to work at the Magnitogorsk integrated iron-and-steel mill (MMK) as a helper. At 26 years of age he was appointed the shop’s deputy chief and at 30 became head of MMK’s oxygen converter process and later MMK’s deputy general director. Sergei Nosov has been heading NTMK since 1999. On his initiative the Nizhny Tagil integrated iron-and-steel mill started building a large-diameter pipes production plant. Master of managing a large integrated mill in a market economy, firm in his decisions. A tall (196 cm) charming person. Keen on sports, sponsors the Uralochka woman’s volleyball team, Russia’ 11-time champion and a winner of many European tournaments.

Along with pipes for trunk gas pipelines ZTBD, which will include mill-5000, will start producing large-size plate rolled products. It is expected that demand for them will grow in metallurgy, machine-building, shipbuilding, oil-and-gas complex (for making foundations of drilling platforms on sea shelves in particular).

ZTBD JSC is an example of the strategic alliance. The project’s partners pulled together financial, material, marketing, intellectual, management and other resources in a desire to enter the market with high-technology competitive products and expand their presence there. Engineering innovations of the project made it necessary to involve such world leaders in the advanced metallurgical technologies as SMS Demag and Voest-Alpine. We signed a contract with Austria’s Voest-Alpine, our long-time partner, to build on the turnkey basis a bar continuous casting machine, which will provide ZTBD with high-quality bars. It is assumed that communications laying, foundation construction works and erection of the building will be done by the Nizhny Tagil integrated iron-and-steel mill. If works are properly arranged, then, the duration of construction could be cut and the machine might be put in operation a year earlier, i.e. in October 2003.

There are reasons for being optimistic. The crediting committee of state insurance agency Hermes decided to insure Bayerische Landesbank’s credit of 6 million euros opened to the Nizhny Tagil integrated iron-and-steel mill for constructing a sulfur removal installation. It will be constructed on the turnkey basis in less than a year and a half. The project’s recoupment period is also less than a year and a half.
Opening of a bank line has once again proved that our work on creating a pipe production complex has good prospects.