Russian steelmaker MMK increased its shipments to the domestic pipe industry by 30% year-on-year in 2023, according to Alexander Kadoshnikov, the company's pipe industry head, speaking at the "Steel pipes: production and regional sales" conference in Novosibirsk last week.

Kadoshnikov noted that 2023 was quite successful for Russian steelmakers overall, despite a decline in exports. Production volumes increased due to a sharp rise in domestic consumption, with every industry sector seeing higher demand, particularly in the automotive and construction sectors.

MMK has been systematically increasing its sales to the Russian market, guided by its strategy. In 2023, the Russian market accounted for 83% of MMK's total sales of rolled stock. The company is a leading supplier of flat products, which make up the bulk of its production and sales. About 70% of all shipments to the Russian market are sent to the Ural region, Siberia and the Volga region.

Supplies of metal products for the construction sector and for the production of welded pipes – which together make up about two-thirds of MMK's sales to the Russian market – have historically accounted for a major part of MMK's sector-based sales breakdown.

The company's focus is on improving its customer-oriented approach, which includes expanding its sales geography, improving the operations of MMK Trading House's sales network, ramping up online sales, developing its logistics system, and introducing a CRM system. MMK also attaches great importance to the search for new technological solutions for industries with high growth potential in the near future.

In 2010, MMK had already demonstrated a nearly 50% increase in metal products shipments to the Russian pipe-making industry, shipping over 2.376 million tonnes of rolled steel products to domestic pipe producers.