On 13 July 2023 the National Recycling Association RUSLOM.COM together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation held a strategic session “Metallurgical Raw Materials Market in Russia. New Challenges, Trends and Opportunities” as part of the INNOPROM exhibition in Ekaterinburg.
The topics of discussion at the strategic session were:
- trends in the regulation of ferrous and non-ferrous metal scrap;
- supply of primary and secondary raw materials to metallurgical enterprises;
- implementation of the strategy for the development of the domestic metallurgy until 2030;
- international co-operation in the sphere of scrap and metal turnover;
- digitalisation in the sphere of scrap and metal turnover;
- consultations on the implementation of the law on non-cash payments to individuals for scrap.
Victor Kovshevny, Director of the Association RUSLOM.COM, spoke about trends in scrap market regulation, analytical indicators, scrap collection and consumption volumes, gave forecasts in the field of metallurgy and metallurgical raw materials, and outlined the necessary support measures for the industry. The speaker noted that in countries with a high level of “old scrap” collection there is no personal income tax for individuals who collect scrap and there are support measures. According to the speaker, recovery of the industry without personal income tax reform, taking into account the sanctions and restrictions on scrap exports, is possible only from 2030.
Nikolay Malykh, General Director of NordVestScrap LLC, presented the technology of metallurgical waste processing developed by the company, which ensures complete processing of current and dump blast furnace steelmaking slags and scrap, with the production of pure metal and separated mineral component. According to the speaker, slag dumps of large metallurgical enterprises contain up to 30% of the metal part, which can be extracted and returned to production with the presented technology. The development also includes solutions to minimise the environmental impact.
Denis Dubovoy, Commercial Director of Vtorion, a marketplace for secondary raw materials, spoke about the possibilities of the digital platform that connects sellers and buyers of scrap in Russia. The developers of the marketplace have taken into account the needs of the scrap procurement business and combined the best practices from international experience on the platform, providing tools for tracking market prices, automating document flow, faster interaction between buyer and supplier, as well as transparency and flexibility of processes. The speaker noted that 82% of the leading players in the steel industry identified digitalisation as a top priority in their development strategy.
Mikhail Gagarin, head of the Industrial Market electronic trading platform, spoke about the product’s capabilities. The platform allows scrap companies to sell specialised materials such as cables, cold-rolled steel scrap, etc., products and equipment: electric motors, drums, transformers, etc., as well as used rolled metal products. Currently, the site has conducted trade transactions worth more than 400 million roubles. The speaker said that the platform is developing dynamically, noting that the growth in the number of trade procedures in June compared to May 2023 was plus 30%.
Teng Yue, Director of Huahong-Rus LLC, a representative office of the Chinese company Huahong Technology, spoke about the products offered. The company is China’s leading manufacturer of scrap processing equipment and supplies to 90 countries of the world. The company supplies to Russia scrap processing equipment such as presses, press shears, briquetting presses, alligator shears. The company’s products are characterised by high quality and low cost.
Oksana Sirotinina, representative of JSC Kiwi Bank, spoke about the features of the transition of scrap collectors to non-cash payments from 1 October 2023 from the point of view of the banking sector. The speaker described the peculiarities of the relationship between scrap collectors and banks, including the criteria to be met by the scrap collector in terms of financial monitoring. The speaker also noted that due to the transition to non-cash payment, banks will have to pay more attention to the monitoring of transactions with individuals.
Marina Uglovskaya, CEO of Rusmet Rating Agency, spoke about ways to minimise the risks of scrap handling activities and compliance with industry and banking regulations. The speaker spoke about prevention and tools to get a company out of a high-risk level, as well as how the industry rating agency mitigates the risks of banks and payment systems when working with the scrap handling industry.
INNOPROM is an international industrial exhibition held annually in Ekaterinburg since 2010. It is one of the most important industrial, trade and export platforms in Russia. It is organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
In 2023, INNOPROM was held for the 13th time and took place from 10 to 13 July at the Ekaterinburg-EXPO IEC, which comprises four pavilions with a total area of 50,000 square metres and a congress centre with an area of 41,600 square metres. The exhibition attracted over 40,000 visitors.
The main theme of INNOPROM-2023 was “Sustainable Production: Strategies for Renewal”.
