Present in Romania since 2002, through the five metallurgic plants which it owns in Romania, the "Mechel" group has invested so far over 200 million dollars in the modernization of the Romanian plants.
The Romanian plants owned by "Mechel" employ about 6,000 people. The company represents the biggest domestic maker of long laminated products, wire and wire products and the only maker of profiles used in ship building.
The Mechel group is an international holding which owns manufacturing facilities in Russia, Kazakhstan, the USA, Romania, Lithuania and Bulgaria. The corporation's businesses include four main segments: mining, metallurgy, ferrous alloys and electricity.
Yuri Gushchin, the CEO of the Eastern European Metallurgic Division of "Mechel" kindly talked to us about the situation of the Romanian plants of "Mechel" and the solutions to the quandary.
* Interview with the CEO of the East European metallurgic division of "Mechel"
Reporter: What is the current situation at the Romanian plants of "Mechel" din Romania?
Yury Gushchin: Between 2008 and the present, the circumstances of the global metallurgic market, especially the European one, remained unfavorable, which naturally led to a steep deterioration of the situation of the metallurgic plants. Over the last three years, the "Mechel" plants in Romania posted losses. Under these circumstances, the losses for 2009 alone have exceeded the profit of the year 2008. Aside from the overall negative evolution of the market for metallurgic products in Europe, the activity of the "Mechel" plants has also been made worse by the domestic factors, specific to the Romanian market. For example, in the last year and a half, the prices of energy commodities for the "Mechel" metallurgical plants have increased 30%. Also, as a result of the implementation of the new EU norms, an increas