Currently the Ukrainian rolled metal market is characterized by the situation, which reflects the state of the construction industry on the whole.
Rauta CEO Andrii Ozeichuk gave his interview to the Capital Construction magazine about the trends, problems, and prospects of the polymer-coated steel market.
The DSTU 8802 standard became effective since January 01, 2019. In your opinion, how will this affect the market?
The new standard defines the minimal acceptable characteristics of raw material and ready products from chin coated steel sheets. Now buyers of metal tile roofing and corrugated metal can choose quality products manufactured as per the DSTU or products of doubtful quality, not meeting this standard.
Even prior to adoption of the new standard, all Ruukki products represented in Ukraine met the EN high quality criteria, including with regard to labeling, tolerances, metal and coating thickness.
Starting form late July, anti-dumping duties for galvanized rolled steel imported from China and Russia, were implemented at the Ukrainian market. These duties are to remain in effect for 5 years. How do you think: would such protective measures facilitate growth of the workload for the existing equipment and sale of coated rolled steel by Ukrainian producers at the internal market? How strongly has the import market been redistributed, and between which countries?
This step would allow increasing metal production by Ukrainian enterprises, as well as augmenting deliveries from Europe and Turkey of products with thickness of over 1.5 mm, which are hardly produced in Ukraine.
In spite of the enlivened rolled steel consumption in Ukraine, the issue of competition remains relevant. Which competitive services does Rauta use to attract clients?
Rauta offers its cliens only high quality Ruukki products from the EU. The products’ quality is confirmed with European and Ukrainian quality certificate, including those on the LEED, BREEAM, and FM systems, as well as with usage of only structural steel grades for their manufacturing.
The highest quality of Ruukki products is confirmed with the official warranty for the period of up to 50 years.
In case of non-standard operating conditions of our products, Rauta specialists assist in selecting the most suitable polymer coating, considering the aggressiveness of the environment, the useful life of a building, and other special requirements.
For a number of years, market players say that the market is in need for a certified independent laboratory for the purpose of control of quality of supplied products. How do you think – will its launch reduce the volume of forgery and increase the consumption culture?
Emergence of an independent certified laboratory in Ukraine, together with adoption of Regulation 305 would lead to considerable decrease of the quantity of low-quality products in the 3-5 years’ perspective.
In this case, caring about their consumers, leading European manufacturers, such as Ruukki and SSAB, invest in development of their own robotized laboratories. Choosing Ruukki products, the buyer can be confident in its quality, because each delivery is accompanied with a laboratory testing protocol for a particular steel batch.
Source: Capital construction