TPT November 2008

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This year ’s
event will be
the first held in
the ultra-modern
Crocus Expo
Centre
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22 November 2008 ›
T he Russian metals market has never been easy for
international companies to master and perhaps remains
the last market to be fully understood and deciphered. In
such a vast geographical expanse as Russia – which covers
over 17 million km 2 and boasts an abundance of natural
resources such as oil, gas and minerals – the metals market
is always going to be a highly lucrative business. The
products and manufacture of tube and pipe, wire and cable,
sheet metal, strip and coil, bar and slabs, are all bound up
in an enormous melting pot of the Russian industry.
Tube and pipe producers in Russia are integrated in a very tight
network, with the Development Fund of the Tube Industry of
Russia (FRTP) overseeing a large number of the main companies
including TMK, United Metallurgical Company (OMK), ChTPZ
Group, and the ESTAR Group. It is for this reason that successful
companies have learnt the key to doing business in Russia lies
in commitment, tenacity and stamina.
One of the best ways to maintain a presence on the Russian
market is by attending exhibitions. Now a regular feature
on the industry calendar, Metal-Expo 2008, Russia’s 14 th
international industrial exhibition, will be held on 11-14
November. Taking place in halls 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11 of pavilion 2,
the visitor attendance is expected to be in excess of 35,000.
The event will provide a great opportunity for companies
wanting to either put in an appearance or enter the Russian
market for the first time.
This year’s event will be the first held in the ultra-modern Crocus
Expo Centre, setting the show up for the most successful in its
14-year history. Organisers Metal-Expo JSC has already
confirmed the attendance of over 800 metals related
companies – including a considerable number of Russian
and CIS tube and pipe companies. Mr Alex Yakovenko,
Metal Expo’s international department director, recently
told Tube & Pipe Technology that the event has received
the highest ever level of international interest.
Metal Expo 2008 is sure to be a primary networking
arena for international and Russian steel makers and
consumers, who want to take advantage of the expected
15 per cent average annual growth in the Russian metals
market over the coming years.