TRENDS IN SOVIET PRODUCTION OF METALLURGICAL EQUIPMENT FOR THE STEEL INDUSTRY 1959-65
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' LOIN .t' 1.1).LN 1 1AL
Economic Intelligence Report
TRENDS IN SOVIET PRODUCTION
OF METALLURGICAL EQUIPMENT
FOR THE STEEL INDUSTRY
1959-65
CIA/RR ER 63-1
January 1963
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Research and Reports
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N? 88
CONFIDENTIAL
GROUP 1
Excluded from automatic
downgrading and
declassification
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CONFIDENTIAL
Economic Intelligence Report
TRENDS IN SOVIET PRODUCTION
OF METALLURGICAL EQUIPMENT
FOR THE STEEL INDUSTRY
1959-65
CIA/RR ER 63-1
WARNING
This material contains information affecting
the National Defense of the United States
within the meaning of the espionage laws,
Title 18, USC, Secs. 793 and 794, the trans-
mission or revelation of which in any manner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Research and Reports
CONFIDENTIAL
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Summary and Conclusions
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CONTENTS
Page
1
I. Introduction 5
II. Structure of the Industry 6
A. Production Facilities 6
B. Administration 7
C. Research and Designing 8
III. Development of Capabilities 8
A. General
B. New Construction
C. Expansion of Existing Plants
D. Improvements in Methods of Production
E. Organization of Production
8
9
9
10
11
IV.
Production Plans ........... ? ? ......
12
A. Aggregate Production
12
B. Requirements of the Soviet Steel Industry
13
C. Export Requirements
16
V.
Performance
16
A. Aggregate Production . . .
?
?
?
?
16
B. Trends in Equipment Design
18
1. General
18
2. Coke Batteries
18
3, Blast Furnaces
18
4. Open-Hearth Furnaces
19
5. Basic Oxygen Converters
19
6. Electric Furnaces . . ? ? ? .........
19
7. Continuous Casting
19
8. Rolling Mills and Finishing Equipment
20
9. Pipe Mill Equipment . . .........
21
10. Equipment for Mechanization Programs
21
C. Significance of Shortfall in Production
22
D. Problems
23
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VI. Foreign Trade 24
A. Exports, 1955-61 24
B. Imports, 1955-61 . . OOOO . OOOOOOOO . 26
C. Trends, 1961-65 27
Appendixes
Appendix A. USSR: Locations and Principal Products of the
Major Plants of the Metallurgical Equipment In-
dustry 31
Appendix B. Modern Hot and Cold Steel Sheet and Strip Mills
Built (or to Be Built) by the USSR for Bloc
Countries, 1955-65 33
Appendix C. Exports of Rolling Mill Equipment by the European
Satellites
35
Tables
1. USSR: Selected Types of Rolling Mills in Operation,
1 January 1959 and Planned for 1 January 1966 15
2. USSR: Production of Metallurgical Equipment, by Type,
17
1950-61 and Planned for 1959-65
3. USSR: Exports and Imports of Metallurgical Equipment and
Rolling Mill Equipment, 1955-61
25
4. USSR: Imports of Rolling Mill Equipment, 1955-61 . . . 27
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TRENDS IN SOVIET PRODUCTION OF METALLURGICAL EQUIPMENT
FOR THE STEEL INDUSTRY*
1959-65
Summary and Conclusions
The USSR plans to produce 1.7 million tons** of metallurgical equip-
ment during the Seven Year Plan period (1959-65), a substantial increase
of 55 percent above the amount produced during 1952-58. Most of this
equipment is intended to meet the growing requirements of the Soviet
economy, mainly the steel industry, but substantial amounts are to be
exported, primarily to Bloc countries and to a lesser extent to under-
developed countries. Increased production is to be achieved primarily
by expanding and modernizing existing plants of the metallurgical equip-
ment industry. New construction to date during the plan period has been
limited to minor facilities for production of specialized equipment. The
only major plant scheduled to be put under construction during the plan
period is a rolling mill equipment plant at Petropavlovsk. Originally
scheduled for completion during the Sixth Five Year Plan (1956-60), this
project has been repeatedly delayed, and it probably was not expected to
make a significant contribution to production during the Seven Year Plan.
In 1961 the USSR produced 213,900 tons of metallurgical equipment,
slightly less than the 218,300 tons produced in 1960. The decline in
production in 1961 followed increases in production of 14 percent and
9 percent, respectively, in 1959 and 1960. The total production in
1959-61 of 633,000 tons was behind schedule for fulfillment of the plan
for aggregate production of metallurgical equipment during 1959-65. To
meet this goal, the USSR must achieve an average annual production of
273,000 tons during 1962-65 compared with an average annual production
of 211,000 tons during 1959-61 -- a formidable task in view of perennial
Soviet failures to meet production plans and the evidence discussed below
that construction of new capacity is behind schedule.
In the case of rolling mill equipment, which normally accounts for
50 to 60 percent of the total production of metallurgical equipment, per-
formance has been particularly poor. In 1961 the USSR produced 102,100
tons of rolling mill equipment, not only substantially below the planned
output of 150,000 tons but also less than the 120,600 tons produced in
* The estimates and conclusions in this report represent the best judg-
ment of this Office as of 15 December 1962.
** Tonnages are given in metric tons throughout this report.
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1960. Although increases in production of 18 percent were achieved in
both 1959 and 1960, they followed a trend of declining production in
1957-58. The average annual production of rolling mill equipment in
1959-61 was approximately equal to the average production in 1955 and
1956, the previous peak years for production of this type of equipment.
To reach the production goal for 1965 of 200,000 to 220,000 tons of roll-
ing mill equipment, the USSR must approximately double its output in 1961.
Achievement of the plan for the aggregate production of rolling mill equip-
ment during the plan period appears to be even more difficult. The USSR
plans to produce at least 1 million tons and possibly as much as 1,144,000
tons of rolling mill equipment during 1959-65. These plans would require
an average annual production during 1962-65 of 169,000 to 205,000 tons
compared with an average annual production of 108,000 tons during 1959-61.
One reason for the inability to achieve the planned production of
metallurgical equipment is the failure to expand machine building capac-
ity sufficiently. The USSR appears to be behind schedule in its invest-
ment program at major plants of the industry that are expected to provide
most of the planned increase in production. Only at the Ural Heavy Ma-
chine Building Plant (Uralmash) at Sverdlovsk does substantial progress
appear to have been made in constructing and enlarging facilities, al-
though, for the most part, they were still not in use during the first
half of 1962. Some progress has been reported in modernization of other
major plants, but construction of new facilities has lagged. In some
cases, there is little evidence of significant investment at plants with
important production responsibilities during the plan period. For ex-
ample, no new construction has been reported at the Elektrostall Heavy
Machine Building Plant, which is scheduled to produce most of the pipe
and tube mills planned during 1959-65. Another deficiency is the lack
of progress in establishing specialized machine building facilities for
production of mechanical equipment needed in mechanization programs for
the steel industry. Actual declines in production in 1961 and earlier
years may be explained in part by heavy competing demands placed on
plants of the industry for other types of industrial equipment.
Failure to produce the desired quantities and types of metallurgical
equipment required by the Soviet steel industry also can be attributed
in part to difficulties in planning and designing. Faulty planning by
the steel industry itself in undertaking expansion and introducing new
technology has hampered efforts to establish stable, well-defined plans
for production of metallurgical equipment. Many of the problems can be
traced to the cumbersome planning system requiring coordination at
Gosplan, design institutes, and lower administrative levels as well as
at machine building and steel plants. For example, difficulties in co-
ordinating planning, designing, and related construction activities help
to explain the lengthy lead times required for major rolling mill proj-
ects. Each of the three continuous wide strip mills that the USSR has
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put into operation during the current plan period required 5 years or
more for completion. Similar difficulties have slowed work on cold
rolling mills and finishing equipment. The lag in undertaking the
task of equipping new basic oxygen steelmaking shops appears to be the
result of indecisive planning as well as delays in solving technical
and design problems.
Although shortfalls in production of metallurgical equipment are
one reason for delays in commissioning new iron and steel capacity,
they have not seriously affected the growth in the total production of
iron and steel -- even toward goals revised upward since the start of
the plan period. Delays in the construction of new capacity in the
steel industry have been offset by success in obtaining substantially
increased production from existing facilities. Moreover, the equip-
ment industry has performed creditably in building large-capacity
equipment units of modern design. The new coke batteries, blast fur-
naces, and open-hearth furnaces constructed and equipped by the USSR
rank with the largest in the world. The rated capacities of some of
the new Soviet rolling mills also compare favorably with those in the
US and elsewhere in the West.
Nevertheless, shortfalls in production of metallurgical equipment
may affect important programs of the Soviet steel industry other than
those for over-all increases in production. For example, delays in
commissioning new iron and steel capacity may adversely affect plans
for retirement of obsolete equipment. Of greater concern, however,
are shortages of specific types of equipment required by the steel
industry for planned improvements in the variety and quality of its
finished products. Among the major types of equipment that the USSR
has encountered difficulties in manufacturing in adequate numbers and
variety are cold rolling mills, finishing line equipment (such as con-
tinuous lines for galvanizing and electrolytic tinning), pipe mill equip-
ment, and heat-treating furnaces for steel mill products (including tubu-
lar products). In addition, the quantities of materials-handling and
auxiliary equipment now being produced apparently are insufficient for
the pace planned for mechanization and automation of the steel industry.
As the principal Bloc producer of metallurgical equipment, the USSR
plays a key role as a supplier of equipment to steel industries in the
Bloc. During 1955-60 the USSR was a substantial net exporter of metal-
lurgical equipment, most of which was rolling mill equipment, in spite
of significant imports of rolling mill equipment from Czechoslovakia
and East Germany. Although since 1960 several Bloc countries, especially
Czechoslovakia, have become more important as suppliers of rolling mill
equipment in intra-Bloc trade and to some extent in trade with underde-
veloped countries, the USSR remains the principal supplier within the
Bloc of larger and more complex types of rolling mills. Commitments to
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the Bloc for such equipment as well as scheduled shipments of various
types of metallurgical equipment to underdeveloped countries, mainly
India and Egypt, call for the continuation of a high level of Soviet
exports through the remainder of the plan period.
A significant development in recent years has been the acquisition
by several of the European Satellites of substantial amounts of equip-
ment from Western manufacturers and the placing of orders for additional
Western equipment for delivery during the next several years. The main
interest has been shown in modern types of equipment needed to expand
and diversify production of finished steel. Although the USSR is pro-
viding some of the particular types being ordered and sought from the
West, such as cold rolling mills and pipe mill equipment, the Soviet
lag in relevant technology and the inability to manufacture adequate
amounts of finishing facilities for its own needs apparently explain
the trend toward procurement from the West.
The USSR itself has imported only comparatively small amounts of
auxiliary rolling mill equipment from the West and is not known to
have ordered complete installations for rolling or finishing steel
products. On the other hand, faced with a lag in the development of
its basic oxygen steelmaking program, the USSR has been negotiating
since 1960 for acquisition from Austria of L-D* oxygen converter equip-
ment and technology.
* The designation L-D stands for Linz-Donowitz in Austria, where the
basic oxygen process was developed, and it is commonly used to designate
the process.
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I. Introduction
In view of Bloc-wide efforts to expand output of iron and steel, pro-
grams to strengthen Soviet capabilities for production of metallurgical
equipment are of special interest. This is particularly true inasmuch
as the USSR not only produces most of the metallurgical equipment for
its own steel industry but also is the principal supplier of metal-
lurgical equipment imported by other Bloc countries. The purpose of
this report is to describe briefly the Soviet metallurgical equipment
industry and to examine its progress and problems during the first half
of the current plan period in light of domestic and export demands
placed on it. Of considerable importance in assessing progress in the
metallurgical equipment industry are Bloc programs to adopt new tech-
nology in the steel industries and to improve and diversify production
of finished steel. Problems encountered by the USSR, the principal
Bloc producer of metallurgical equipment, in manufacturing some of the
required new types of equipment acquire special significance in the
context of an incipient trend of increased dependence of the European
Satellites on Western manufacturers of equipment.
This report is confined to a discussion of metallurgical equipment
for the steel industry. As discussed herein, the steel industry con-
sists of the plants engaged in production of metallurgical coke, pig
iron, crude steel, and steel mill products, including pipes and tubes.
Iron ore mining and processing equipment is not considered to be metal-
lurgical equipment for the purposes of this report.* Metallurgical
equipment for the steel industry includes the following types of equip-
ment:
1. Mechanical equipment required at coke plants (excluding
byproduct chemical facilities), blast furnaces, and steel smelting
shops, such as coke pushers, coke-oven charging larries, door extractors,
coke guides, quenching cars, ore bridges, ore unloaders, conveyor sys-
tems, skip hoists, slag pots, mixers, charging machines, ladles, cast-
ing installations, ingot buggies, overhead traveling cranes, and other
special handling mechanisms.
2. Rolling mills and auxiliary equipment for handling, pro-
cessing, and finishing steel products. Rolling mills encompass a wide
range of mills from primary mills for the breakdown of steel ingots
(such as blooming and slabbing mills) to mills for the rolling of
* Soviet production and planning data for metallurgical equipment ex-
clude ore mining and processing equipment.
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diversified steel products, including flat and tubular products, rod
and wire, and a wide variety of shapes and sections (such as rails,
beams, channels, angles, and bars). Examples of auxiliary equipment,
which also covers a wide range of installations, include transfer
equipment, shears, slitting lines, levelers, coilers, pickling lines,
tinning and galvanizing lines, and heat-treating equipment.
3. Fabricated components that are part of the technical
equipment (such as blast furnace bells, coke-oven doors, and machinery
supports). Such components may be distinguished from the building,
concrete work, structural steel, and other structural elements needed
in the construction of coke ovens, blast furnaces, and steel furnaces.
Metallurgical equipment as thus defined also must be distinguished
from a wide variety of other installations and ancillary facilities
essential to the efficient operation of modern iron and steel plants.
Examples include power plants, pump rooms, turboblowers and compressors,
electrical drives and other electrical equipment, oxygen generating
facilities, instruments, measuring and control equipment, refractory
materials, railroad tracks, docks, and storage facilities. Equipment
and facilities of these various types are supplied by many branches of
industry.
II. Structure of the Industry
A. Production Facilities
The Soviet metallurgical equipment industry, a major branch
of the machine building industry, consists of a diversified group of
machine building plants of which only a few are engaged solely in
production of metallurgical equipment for the steel industry. In
fact, the wide variety of industrial machinery and equipment produced
by these plants precludes easy identification and itemization of in-
dustry resources such as labor force and production facilities. The
major producers of metallurgical equipment are heavy machine building
plants with casting, forging, metalworking, and handling facilities
required in the manufacture of large and heavy products. Eight of
these plants account for much of the production of metallurgical equip-
ment and nearly all of the production of rolling mill equipment that
normally constitutes about 50 to 60 percent of the total production
of metallurgical equipment.*
In spite of the importance of this nucleus of heavy machine
building plants, dozens of other industrial plants produce various
* For a list of these major plants and their principal metallurgical
equipment products, see Appendix A.
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types of metallurgical equipment. Heavy machine building plants in
Debal'tsevo, Zhdanov, Syzran', and Krasnoyarsk are significant pro-
ducers of ladles, charging machines, and other materials-handling
equipment as well as components for rolling mills and blast furnaces.
Hoist and transport equipment plants in Leningrad and Moscow produce
metallurgical cranes. Among the more important producers of rolls for
rolling mills are specialized plants in Dnepropetrovsk and Lutugino.*
The Slavyansk Machinery Plant is an important specialized producer of
machinery for coke batteries. The Starostin Machine Building Plant in
Odessa is the only specialized producer of weight-measuring machines
for blast furnaces, steel mills, and rolling shops. Several electro-
thermal equipment plants collaborate with heavy machine building plants
in the building of electric furnaces for the steel industry. Electro-
thermal equipment plants in Novosibirsk and Moscow have participated
in the manufacture of equipment for electric furnaces up to 80 tons in
capacity, and the Electrothermal Equipment Plant in Saratov has partici-
pated in the manufacture of small-capacity units, primarily under 3 tons.
Metallurgical plants themselves meet most of their extensive
requirements for spare parts and replacement components and produce some
equipment for modernization and reconstruction of their facilities. In
addition, an extensive network of suppliers from many branches of in-
dustry provide materials and spqcialized components, such as electric
drives and other electrical equipment, instruments, control devices,
lubrication systems, ball bearings, and gears.
B. Administration
The plants of the metallurgical equipment industry, which, before
the industrial reorganization of 1957, were controlled by the Main Ad-
ministration for Metallurgical Machine Building (GUMMASh) of the Ministry
of Heavy Machine Building are now subordinate to local economic councils
(sovnarkhozes). On the other hand, these plants are still subject to a
considerable degree of centralized control. The State Institute for the
Design and Planning of Metallurgical Plants (GIPROMEZ) is directly re-
sponsible for the establishment of equipment requirements of the Soviet
steel industry, which form the basis for production plans for metal-
lurgical equipment. In addition, Gosplan and organizations such as the
State Committee for Ferrous and Nonferrous Metallurgy issue directives
concerning assignments for production of metallurgical equipment. Never-
theless, heavy competing demands placed on these plants by sovnarkhozes
and other planning bodies frequently result in delays in completing and
delivering orders for metallurgical equipment.
* Most of the rolls produced by these plants are replacement rolls for
rolling mills already in operation in the steel industry and are not
reflected in the annual production data (tonnage) for metallurgical
equipment.
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C. Research and Designing
In drawing up plans for metallurgical plants, GIPROMEZ and its
affiliates at republic and local levels must coordinate the work of
numerous scientific, research, and design organizations. Of fundamental
importance because of its relevance to trends in the design of metal-
lurgical equipment is research in iron and steelmaking processes con-
ducted by research institutes and steel plant laboratories. The Central
Scientific Research Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy (TsNIIChM) devotes
part of its research effort in ferrous metallurgy to equipment problems.
GIPROMEZ does a considerable share of the designing of metallurgical
equipment but delegates responsibility for most of this work to design
staffs of machine building plants as well as to several specialized
organizations, mainly the State Institute for the Design and Planning
of Coke-Chemical Enterprises (GIPROKOKS); the State Institute for the
Design and Planning of Steel Works (GIPROSTAL'); the State All-Union
Design and Planning Institute for Ferrous Metallurgy ("Stal'proyekt");
and the All-Union Scientific Research Institute for Heat Treating Equip-
ment (VNIIETO), formerly the Electric Furnace Special Design Bureau.
In the development of designs of new models of equipment, particularly
rolling mills and auxiliary equipment, a major role is played by the
All-Union Scientific Research and Planning-Design Institute of Metal-
lurgical Machine Building (VNIIETMASh), which frequently collaborates
with designers at the plant level. The Central Scientific Research
Institute of Technology and Machine Building (T5NI1TMASh) also helps
to develop new models of metallurgical equipment. Another important
function of TsNI1TMASh is to conduct research programs concerning pro-
perties of materials, manufacturing processes, and other technical
problems of machine building.
III. Development of Capabilities
A. General
The USSR plans to achieve Seven Year Plan goals for production
of metallurgical equipment primarily by expanding and modernizing exist-
ing plants of the metallurgical equipment industry. Increased special-
ization in the manufacture of various types of metallurgical equipment
also is expected to help make possible higher output. 1j* The only new
construction reported to date during the plan period has been on minor
facilities for production of specialized equipment. Only one major
machine building plant, to be located at Petropavlovsk, has been
scheduled to be put under construction during the plan period, but work
on this project has not yet been started. It is not likely that Soviet
planners are counting on this plant for a significant contribution to
production during the Seven Year Plan.
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B. New Construction
In April 1962 it was announced that work had been completed on
a plant in Armenia for the manufacture of vacuum furnaces needed for
production of high-quality steel. 2j No additional information is
available concerning this plant. Construction is underway on a plant
at Zhdanov to manufacture steel fabrications for steel converters,
earthmoving machinery, and other equipment. The first section of the
plant was scheduled for completion in 1962. V
The only known project for construction of a major machine
building plant is a new rolling mill equipment plant at Petropavlovsk.
Originally scheduled for completion during the Sixth Five Year Plan,
this project has been delayed repeatedly. In 1960 it was announced
that construction was to be started in 1962. L/ The current status
of this project is not known, but at best, even with an early start
on construction, the plant probably could be only in partial opera-
tion by 1965.
C. Expansion of Existing Plants
Much of the planned increase in production of metallurgical
equipment is expected from four plants: the two largest plants, the
Ural Heavy Machine Building Plant (Uralmash) at Sverdlovsk and the
Novo-Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Building Plant, as well as the Elektro-
stal' Heavy Machine Building Plant, which is to produce most of the
new Soviet pipe and tube mills during the plan period, and the South
Ural Heavy Machine Building Plant at Orsk, which is scheduled for
major expansion. Planned production of rolling mill equipment by
Uralmash during 1959-65 is 307,000 tons, or slightly more than the
amount produced during the preceding 25 years. 2/ At the Novo Krama-
torsk plant the annual production of rolling mill equipment is to be
tripled during the plan period. g
At Uralmash, many of the major shops are being expanded, in-
cluding the steel foundry, the press and forge shop, and a machine
assembly shop. A new shop for production of rolls for rolling mills
was completed near the end of 1961. I/ A large shop for welded fabri-
cations has been partly completed. Early in 1962, equipment was being
installed in the six bays of the first section while construction was
underway on a second section with seven bays. W Other new facilities
nearing completion are a large laboratory building and experimental
shop. 2/
At the Novo-Kramatorsk plant the only known new construction
is the recently completed engineering wing with library, office, and
other facilities for designers at the plant. Li On the other hand,
there is evidence of progress in the modernization and enlargement of
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equipment facilities at the plant as well as installation of new equip-
ment. Some 200 new machine tools were installed in various shops at the
plant in 1960. 11/ An increase in steelmaking capacity also was made
that year by reconstruction and enlargement of the open-hearth furnaces
at the plant. 12/ In 1961 the Novo-Kramatorsk plant installed induction
heat-treating equipment and an installation for vacuum degassing of large
steel ingots up to 100 tons. 12/ Early in 1962 it was announced that
electroslag remelting facilities had been installed for casting of high-
quality steel ingots up to 10 to 12 tons. 11_1/
Scheduled construction projects at the South Ural Heavy Machine
Building Plant, which reportedly is to have its total machine building
capacity doubled during the plan period, include a new metal structures
shop and a new section of the open-hearth shop. Work was underway on
these projects near the end of 1961, but scheduled completion dates are
not known. 1.2/ Althou& some modernization of foundry facilities has
been accomplished at the Elektrostal' plant, there is no indication that
new construction has been undertaken or planned at this plant.
Capacities of other major plants are to be increased. At the
Staro-Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Building Plant a new steel casting Shop
was commissioned in 1959, but no subsequent construction has been re-
ported. 1.Y Extensive reconstruction and expansion are planned for the
Alma-Ata Heavy Machine Building Plant, but, because of insufficient al-
location of investment funds, work has lagged on new projects, includ-
ing two new machine bays, casting facilities, and a boiler room. 12/
Investment is planned at other plants of the industry, but in-
formation is not available concerning specific measures to strengthen
capabilities for production of metallurgical equipment or related com-
ponents. One program of particular importance is that for expanding
capacities of electric furnace building plants, including those at
Novosibirsk and Saratov.
Some capacity may be provided by utilization of other suitable
machine building plants for production of metallurgical equipment. One
measure of this type is the apparent reactivation of the Izhora plant
near Leningrad as a producer of rolling mill equipment. One of the
oldest heavy machine building plants in the USSR, the Izhora plant is
not known to have produced significant quantities of metallurgical
equipment in the past 15 years. The plant is now engaged in the manu-
facture of a large 600-millimeter (mm) structural mill with technical
equipment weighing 17,000 tons.
D. Improvements in Methods of Production
Improvements in methods and techniques of production constitute
an integral part of investment programs at major equipment plants. One
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important objective is improvement of foundry operations, including wider
use of mechanized techniques. The Elektrostal' plant was one of the first
plants in the USSR to introduce (in 1959) a mechanized continuous flow
line for production of large casting molds by means of a sandslinger on a
small-series basis. 2f./ At Uralmash, where steel foundry facilities are
being expanded, extensive use is planned of mechanized continuous flow
production techniques by specializing production of steel castings in
groups according to weight. Mechanized techniques are to be used in
production of cores and molds, for shaking-out operations, and in the
cleaning of castings. 21/
Another objective of Soviet producers of metallurgical equipment
is better utilization of machine tools by improved scheduling of produc-
tion. For example, the Elektrostall plant has spent several years in
classifying its parts and components according to similarities in con-
figuration and production processes required. Several of the classified
categories concern parts for rolling mills. 22/ One practical result of
these efforts has been the establishment of sections for "group machining"
of some of these parts, althouel the extent to which the technique is be-
ing used on parts for rolling mills is not known. 21/
Other improvements in methods of production are being effected
as existing shops are reequipped and new ones constructed. Metals of
hidier quality are now available for the manufacture of equipment with
the greater use of vacuum degassing and electroslag remelting and the
installation of new electric furnaces in casting shops. Methods of
heat treatment have been improved by the recent installation of new
induction heating furnaces at Uralmash and the Novo-Kramatorsk plant.
Increased use has been made of modern welding techniques for such ap-
plications as hard surfacing of parts of metallurgical equipment subject
to intense wear, such as blast furnace bells; manufacture of welded ladles
instead of heavier riveted models; and depositional buildup of worn rolls
of rolling mills and repair of other types of metallurgical equipment.
Especially important as a means of reducing requirements for large cast-
ings and forgings is the growing use of electroslag welding, a Soviet-
developed technique, in the manufacture of large components such as hous-
ings for rolling mills. Completion of new welded structures shops at Ural-
mash and the South Ural plant will permit considerably increased use of
this technique. Electroslag welding also has been used to reduce the
time required for assembly and installation of blast furnace units.
E. Organization of Production
A long-established and much-discussed objective of the metal-
lurgical equipment industry has been specialization in the manufacture
of various types of metallurgical equipment. Some progress has been
made in the establishment of specialized production responsibilities
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among the major plants of the industry, particularly for the principal
types of rolling mills. Uralmash has primary responsibility for the
manufacture of cold rolling mills as well as blooming mills and plate
mills. The Novo-Kramatorsk plant specializes in the manufacture of
slabbing mills and continuous hot sheet and strip mills but also manu-
factures cold rolling and other types of mills. The Elektrostall plant
has been assigned primary responsibility for the manufacture of pipe and
tube mills.
The USSR has been less successful in seeking to concentrate pro-
duction responsibilities for the total production of metallurgical equip-
ment in a smaller number of plants as a means of increasing both the ef-
ficiency and the volume of production. Certain sovnarkhozes continue to
be criticized in the Soviet press for organizing production of metallur-
gical equipment in machine building plants of their economic regions. EL/
The assignment of production tasks to these plants, however, probably is
explained by the inability of established plants to meet growing demands
for metallurgical equipment and other types of heavy equipment for which
they continue to be responsible.
A variety of proposals have been made to establish specialized
machine building facilities for spare parts and replacement components.
For example, the need has been cited for a specialized machinery plant
in the Urals, similar to the Slavyansk Machinery Plant in the Ukraine,
for the manufacture of spar parts, standard components, and specialized
equipment for coke ovens. When made singly at local repair or machine
shops, such items are expensive and often are of poor quality. 22/ Spe-
cialized production also has been proposed for such equipment items as
replacement components for metallurgical cranes and delivery and exit
guides for rolling mills. 2.6.1 Such proposals are frequently advanced
as a means of reducing the number of auxiliary workers in the steel in-
dustry. Establishment of an effective spare parts industry reportedly
has been opposed, however, because of the high capital expenditures re-
quired. 22/ The same factor also may explain the lack of progress in
establishing specialized production facilities for the various types of
mechanical equipment needed in the program for mechanization and automa-
tion of Soviet steel plants.
IV. Production Plans
A. Aggregate Production
The USSR plans to produce 1,724,000 tons of metallurgical equip-
ment during 1959-65, a substantial increase of 55 percent above the amount
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produced during 1952-58. 2?/* No official goal for 1965 has been estab-
lished for metallurgical equipment, but the annual production of rolling
mill equipment is scheduled to reach 200,000 to 220,000 tons. It is
not clear how much rolling mill equipment the USSR has planned to produce
during 1959-65. At a minimum, an increase of 53 percent above the amount
produced in 1952-58 appears to have been planned -- or about 1 million
tons, as cited in one document outlining plans for development of produc-
tion of rolled steel. 221/ An increase of 75 percent is called for accord-
ing to plans for the development of the metallurgical engineering branch
of heavy industry. 12/ The larger increase would provide an aggregate
production of 1,144,000 tons of rolling mill equipment during 1959-65.
This total would represent 66 percent of the planned production of metal-
lurgical equipment compared with 59 percent in 1952-58, which appears to
be consistent with plans for increased emphasis on equipment needs of the
rolling and finishing sector of the steel industry. The goals for in-
creasing the physical volume of production during the plan period reflect
aggregate requirements for both Soviet industry and export programs.
B. Requirements of the Soviet Steel Industry
Most of the metallurgical equipment produced by the USSR is used
to satisfy domestic requirements. During 1957-60 the USSR devoted 72
percent of the domestic production of metallurgical equipment to its own
steel industry, although on an annual basis the proportion ranged from
66 percent in 1958 to 82 percent in 1960. These data are indicative of
the total volume used at home but do not reveal the varied equipment
neeas of the growing Soviet steel industry. Equipment is required not
only for the construction of new, diversified capacity but also for the
modernization and rebuilding of older, existing facilities. In addition,
large quantities of materials-handling and auxiliary equipment are re-
quired for current programs of mechanization and automation in the Soviet
steel industry.
Planned construction of new pig iron capacity during 1959-65
amounts to 24 million to 30 million tons. For this purpose, the USSR
plans to build 31 blast furnaces, predominantly with working volumes of
1,700 and 2,000 cubic meters (cu m). 11/ Increased requirements for
metallurgical coke are to be met mainly by construction of 53 new coke
batteries. 1.2.1
* Some of the metallurgical equipment produced by the USSR is for non-
ferrous metallurgy, but by far the larger share is for ferrous metallurgy,
more specifically the steel industry, thus reflecting the considerable
difference in scales of operation. In 1961, Soviet production of the
principal nonferrous metals (aluminum, magnesium, copper, lead, zinc,
and tin) was approximately 2 million tons, whereas production of crude
steel amounted to 70.8 million tons.
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During 1959-65 the USSR plans to construct 28 million to 36 mil-
lion tons of new crude steel capacity. Open-hearth furnaces will con-
tinue to predominate in this new construction, althouei the relative
share of production from these furnaces is expected to decrease. The
relative share of converter steel is to be increased by construction of
basic oxygen converters with capacities of 75, 100, and 250 tons. Twenty-
five electric furnaces are to be built, some with capacities of 80 and
180 tons. jJ
In the case of new rolled steel capacity, the goal is 23 million
to 29 million tons. During the plan period the USSR plans to put into
operation 55 new hot rolling mills. Of this number, 13 are to be plate
and sheet mills with an aggregate annual capacity of 21.6 million tons. ly
Some of the types of mills that the USSR plans to have in operation by the
end of 1965 are daown in Table 1.* Althouel the total number of these
types of rolling mills is to be reduced during the plan period, the ag-
gregate annual capacity will be considerably larger because of the higher
productivity of new mills compared with older mills scheduled for retire-
ment and the rebuilding of some older mills to larger capacities. In
addition, perhaps a dozen or more blooming and slabbing mills are sched-
uled for installation during 1959-65. 12/ Eleven cold rolling mills are
scheduled to be put into operation as well as heat-treatment facilities
and continuous finishing line equipment, including continuous lines for
pickling, galvanizing, and electrolytic tinning.
The USSR plans to manufacture and put into operation about 30
mills for production of steel pipes with diameters from 20 to 1,020 mm
and a considerable number of mills for cold rolling of pipe and tube
products. 11/ Of particular importance are new mills required for pro-
duction of large-diameter pipe for gas and oil pipeline programs. Heat-
treatment facilities for pipe and tube products are to be considerably
improved and expanded. 2/
By 1965 the USSR also plans to construct and have in operation
continuous casting installations with an annual output of 8 million
tons. 2f2/
Soviet plans for construction of new capacity encompass the sub-
sidiary objective of permitting retirement of old and obsolete equipment.
During 1959-65 the USSR plans to retire 21 blast furnaces with an aggre-
gate annual capacity of 3 million tons)12/; 44 open-hearth furnaces with
an aggregate annual capacity of more than 2 million tons11.11; and 91 roll-
ing mills, including 52 plate and sheet mills. The rolling mills have an
aggregate capacity of about 3 million tons, although the current annual
production at these mills is about 2.4 million tons, including 1 million
tons of sheet metal.)12/
* Table 1 follows on p. 15.
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Table 1
USSR: Selected Types of Rolling Mills in Operation a/
1 January 1959 and Planned for 1 January 1966
Mills in Operation
1 January 1959
Mills Planned to Be in Operation
1 January 1966
Total
Of Which:
Modern Mills
Total
Of Which:
Modern Mills
1958
Production
(Thousand
1958
Production
(Thousand
Capacity
(Thousand
Capacity
(Thousand
Type of Rolling Mill
Number
Metric Tons)
Number
Metric Tons)
Number
Metric Tons)
Number
Metric Tons)
Pipe billet
3
1,269
2
1,026
3
1,850
2
1,335
Rail-structural
5
4,544
3
3,467
5
5,350
3
4,100
Strip (skelp)
3
932
2
830
4
2,420
3
2,250
Large bar
55
8,099
3
2,664
43
13,249
8
7,50
Medium bar
29
3,797
3
1,656
31
8,236
8
5,695
Small bar
36
3,670
4
1,460
36
7,722
11
5,150
Special section bars
0
0
0
3
172
3
172
Wire
16
2,932
3
1,260
19
6,225
11
5,025
Sheet
144
11,680
10
6,373
104
35,933
23
31,352
a. 43/
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C. Export Requirements
Although the planned volume of exports during 1961-65 is not known,
substantial amounts of equipment have been scheduled for delivery to the
Bloc and underdeveloped countries (mainly India and Egypt). During
1957-60, exports amounted to 212,300 tons, or 28 percent of the domestic
production of metallurgical equipment.*
V. Performance
A. Aggregate Production
In 1961 the USSR produced 213,900 tons of metallurgical equipment,
a slight decline from the 218,300 tons produced in 1960. Production of
rolling mill equipment, the largest subcategory, also declined from a
level of 120,600 tons in 1960 to 102,100 tons, considerably below the
plan of 150,000 tons. The decline in production in 1961, following gains
in production achieved in 1959 and 1960, repeated a pattern prevalent in
previous years of failure to maintain a steady rate of growth in produc-
tion. Soviet production of metallurgical equipment and rolling mill
equipment during 1950-61 and Seven Year Plan goals are given in Table 2.**
The increases in production during the first 2 years of the plan
period -- for metallurgical equipment, 14 percent and 9 percent, respec-
tively, in 1959 and 1960 and for rolling mill equipment, about 18 percent
in both years -- permitted the industry to reach new peak levels. In the
case of rolling mill equipment, however, the gains in production were less
impressive in light of the fact that they had reversed a trend of steadily
declining production in preceding years. It is noteworthy that the average
production of rolling mill equipment during 1959-61 actually was not much
higher than in the previous peak years of 1955 and 1956.
From the point of view of progress toward fulfillment of aggregate
production goals for the plan period, the results obtained during 1959-61
were disappointing. In the case of metallurgical equipment the total pro-
duction was 633,000 tons, or 37 percent of the total of 1,724,000 tons
planned for 1959-65. To reach the planned total, the USSR must produce
on the average 273,000 tons of metallurgical equipment every year during
1962-65.
In the case of rolling mill equipment the shortfall was even more
considerable. The total production during 1959-61 was 325,300 tons, or
33 percent of the lower aggregate goal (1 million tons) planned for 1959-65,
* Factors related to the Soviet export program during 1961-65 are dis-
cussed in VI, p. 24, below.
** Table 2 follows on p. 17.
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Table 2
USSR: Production of Metallurgical Equipment, by Type 2/
1950-61 and Planned for 1959-65
Thousand Metric Tons
Total
Metallurgical
Equipment
Rolling Mill Equipment
Other
Metallurgical
Equipment 12/
1950 111.2
66.1
45.1
1951 109.7
64.2
45.5
1952 123.5
69.4
54.1
1953 145.7
87.5
58.2
1954 153.7
94.2
59.5
1955 172.1
108.5
63.6
1956 177.2 2/
111.3 2/
65.9
1957 167.2 2/
96.1 2/
71.1
1958 176.1 1/
66.9 1/
89.2
1959 200.8 2/
102.6 .2/
98.2
1960 218.3 2/
120.6 2/
97.7
1961 213.9 2/
102.1 2/
111.8
1965 Plan N.A.
200.0 to 220.0
N.A.
1952-58 1,115.5
653.9
461.6
1959-65 Plan 1,724.0 5/
1,000.0 to 1,144.0
11/
580.0 to 724.0
a. Unless otherwise indicated,
b. Residual.
source
c. 145/
d.
e. E13/
f.
g.
but only 28 percent of the higher goal (1,144,000 tons). To reach the
lower goal for aggregate production, the USSR must achieve an average
annual production of 169,000 tons every year during 1962-65. The higher
goal would require an average annual production of 205,000 tons.
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B. Trends in Equipment Design
1. General
The USSR manufactures metallurgical equipment of conventional,
modern design. In blast furnace and open-hearth design the USSR leads
the West in several respects, largely as a result of systematic adoption
of both foreign and domestic technical innovations.* A major accomplish-
ment of the metallurgical equipment industry, as described below, has been
to provide mechanical equipment for blast furnaces and open-hearth fur-
naces as well as coke ovens that rank among the largest in the world. On
the other hand, the USSR has lagged in designing and constructing large-
capacity electric furnaces and basic oxygen converters. The USSR manu-
factures large, complex rolling mills, but, for the most part, follows
developments in the West in the basic designing of this equipment.
2. Coke Batteries
The USSR is a leader in the trend toward coke ovens of large
capacity. In 1959 the USSR introduced a new 77-oven coke battery with
ovens 30 cu m in volume compared with 20.0 and 21.6 cu m for older Soviet
models and about 22.0 cu m for the normal oven in use in the US. 51 The
new battery has an annual capacity of more than 650,000 tons. 52 New
batteries with ovens 36 to 4o cu in in volume are in the planning stage. 53j
3. Blast Furnaces
During 1959-61 the USSR constructed blast furnaces with vol-
umes of 1,719 and 2,000 cu m to continue the Soviet trend toward large-
capacity blast furnaces. The 2,000-cu m furnaces, which are the largest
in the world, have estimated annual capacities of 1.1 million tons based
on current operating practices.** As a result of Soviet progress in the
* It should be stressed that many of the advances in iron and steel-
making are the result of technical innovations, such as the use of auxil-
iary fuels and high top pressure in blast furnace operations and the use
of oxygen and improved refractories in steelmaking. Although the metal-
lurgical equipment industry provides basic mechanical equipment needed in
metallurgical production units as well as auxiliary equipment for mechani-
zation of related materials-handling processes, various other industries
provide equipment for the intensification of metallurgical processes, in-
cluding compressors, oxygen-generating facilities, and refractories.
** High productivity achieved by these and other Soviet blast furnaces
reflects progress in equipping blast furnaces and auxiliaries to permit
extensive use of modern operating practices, including careful preparation
of the charge, hiel top pressure, high blast temperature, oxygen in the
blast, natural gas as an auxiliary fuel, and controlled moisture content.
Development work has been undertaken, as it has in the US, on computer
control of blast furnace processes.
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construction of large blast furnaces in recent years, the average size
of Soviet blast furnaces is now approximately equal to the average US
furnace.2/1/
4. Open-Hearth Furnaces
The USSR is currently constructing open-hearth furnaces with
capacities of 500 to 600 tons that rank with the largest in use in the
world. A 900-ton open-hearth furnace is under construction. 52/
5. Basic Oxygen Converters
The USSR is behind schedule in its basic oxygen steelmaking
program. The only oxygen converters currently in operation are those of
comparatively snail capacity -- up to 55 tons -- installed before the
Seven Year Plan. Work has started on the manufacture of equipment for
new converters of 100-ton capacity, which are scheduled to be in
operation in 1963.* 56/ Design work was to be undertaken in 1962
on larger units of 250-ton capacity. 21/ In the US, where the basic
oxygen steelmaking process is gaining rapid acceptance, a 272-ton conver-
ter was put into operation late in 1962. .0./
6. Electric Furnaces
The largest electric furnaces in operation in the USSR have
rated capacities of 80 tons, althou& heats of 90 to 100 tons have been
made. The first unit of this size was put into operation in 1959. 22/
Designing of a 180-ton furnace was undertaken as early as 1956, but it
is not scheduled to be in operation before 1965. L/ In the US, elec-
tric furnaces capable of outputs of 180 tons or more have been used for
a number of years.
7. Continuous Casting
The USSR, which first began research on continuous casting
in 1944, has constructed facilities for commercial scale as well as ex-
perimental operations. The process was designed to permit direct cast-
ing of billets and slabs to eliminate both the pouring of ingots and
the subsequent use of breakdown mills (blooming and slabbing mills).
However, the process is still in the development stage in the USSR.
Existing units were reported to have produced 450,000 tons of steel
in 1960. ..62/ Considerable developmental work has been accomplished
in other countries, primarily in Western Europe, and the number of
* The USSR also has lagged in the construction of oxygen-generating fa-
cilities required by the trend toward increased use of oxygen in steel-
making, not only in new basic oxygen converters but also in open-hearth
steelmaking.
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commercial installations is increasing. In the US, although some
small-capacity units have been built and operated, the process has not
been adopted commercially, because of uncertainty about the ability to
achieve the large tonnages required for efficient operations. A number
of producers in the US are showing increased interest in recent develop-
ments, however, and two companies have ordered full-scale, continuous
casting machines to make large steel slabs. L[/
8. Rolling Mills and Finishing Equipment
Rolling mills built by the USSR during the current plan period
conform generally to modern standards for speed of rolling, weight of
starting material, and use of continuous arrangements in rolling and re-
lated production processes. As a result, capacities of new Soviet mills
compare favorably with those of similar mills in the West. For example,
1,150-mm blooming mills constructed by the USSR reportedly are capable
of annual outputs of 3 million tons. Several 1,300-mm blooming mills,
described as fully automatic with annual capacities of 6 million tons,
are scheduled to be put into operation during the plan period. .?.2/ The
new 850/700/500-mm continuous billet mill was designed for an annual out-
put of more than 3 million tons. Available information indicates a
similar trend toward large capacities for other Soviet mills, such as
wire, rod, and bar mills. The USSR also has manufactured continuous wide
strip mills with outputs planned as high as 3.5 million tons. .1./
On the other hand, many of the larger mills, particularly
multistand mills, require long lead times for design, construction, and
installation. For example, a highly productive 650-mm rail-structural
mill was put under construction in 1952 and required extensive revision
of original equipment components before being put into operation in
1959. 68/ Each of the three continuous wide strip mills put into
operation in 1960 required 5 years or more for completion. In gen-
eral, long lead times for large mills frequently result in a failure to
incorporate improved design features, necessitating modification or re-
building in order to attain desired levels of output and operating ef-
ficiency. Difficulties currently are being encountered in designing
and manufacturing cold rolling mills. Only one continuous-type mill,
a 5-stand, 4-high, 1,200-mm cold strip mill, was completed during 1959-61.
Two other continuous-type mills scheduled for 1961 were not completed.
The lag in constructing these and other types of cold rolling mills also
has slowed work on development of modern types of finishing and process-
ing equipment, such as continuous lines for pickling, annealing, electro-
lytic tinning, and galvanizing. Some of these modern types of finishing
equipment currently are being manufactured for the first time in the USSR.
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9. Pipe Mill Equipment
In the expansion of the Soviet pipe and tube industry, pre-
dominant importance is attached to the design and manufacture of pipe
and tube welding mills. .622/ Seamless mills, which accounted for 59 per-
cent of the total production of steel pipes in 1958, are still being manu-
factured but in comparatively smaller numbers. For example, a continuous
mill for production of seamless tubes up to 102 mm in diameter was put
into operation early in 1962. Equipment for this modern mill, which ap-
pears similar in design to US mills, consists mainly of a 9-stand mandrel
mill, a 19-stand reduction mill, and a sizing mill. 22/
The Soviet trend toward welding mills is explained by factors
similar to those that already have led to greatly increased use of these
mills in the West: comparative simplicity of equipment requirements and
hence lower capital costs, lower operating costs, and ability to produce
thin-walled pipes and tubes of accurate dimensions. Among mills of this
type installed during the plan period are a 102-mm electroweld mill, an
820-mm electroweld mill, and a 1,020-mm electroweld mill. The USSR also
has constructed a spiral weld mill capable of producing pipe up to 720 mm
in diameter. Recently, another mill of this type began production of pipe
up to 1,020 mm in diameter. 21/ A mobile spiral weld unit also has been
developed for direct use in the field where pipe is being laid. 22/
Difficulties have been encountered, however, in designing,
manufacturing, and installing some of these mills. Reported design and
equipment defects apparently explain the failure of the first Soviet
electroweld mill to reach planned levels of output for production of
badly needed large-diameter pipe up to 1,020 mm in diameter. 21/ Work
on a second mill of this type apparently is considerably behind sched-
ule.' 2.!il The USSR also is lagging in the manufacture of other types of
pipe mill equipment, particularly heat-treating furnaces and modern fin-
ishing equipment, such as pipe-cutting and pipe-threading machines,
boring and polishing machines, and protective coating equipment. 75/
10. Equipment for Mechanization Programs
Although new basic units (blast furnaces, open-hearth furnaces,
and rolling mills) constructed by the USSR generally are characterized by
a high degree of mechanization in keeping with their high output capabili-
ties, programs for mechanization throughout the steel industry are behind
schedule. 1?/ Perhaps the most progress has been made in the case of cok-
ing operations. Technical publications indicate that a high level of
mechanization has been attained in this area with the exception of re-
pair operations. 22/ One well-placed Soviet expert has stated that the
level of mechanization in coking operations is the highest of all the
segments of Soviet ferrous metallurgy. More progress has been made
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in mechanization of blast-furnace and steelmaking operations than in
rolling and finishing operations, but, in general, production of many
planned types of mechanization equipment has lagged or has not been
organized. An indication of current trends, however, is given by
enumeration of some new types of equipment now being produced or under
development. Of the specialized equipment that the USSR plans to adopt
for blast furnace operations, several types are in wide use in the West.
Examples include ore-averaging equipment, charge spreaders, vibrating
screens for sifting coke fines, and large-capacity pig iron carts. /21/
For the mechanization of handling operations in steel shops the USSR is
designing and producing new materials-handling units with enlarged ca-
pacities and increased durability such as charging machines, casting
cranes, and pig iron conveying ladles. ..119../ Considerable attention also
is being given to the development of equipment for the mechanization of
auxiliary operations in steel shops. In particular, machines are being
developed for the preparation and treatment of scrap, furnace maintenance
and repair, flushing and removal of slag, preparation of ingot molds,
opening and closing of tapholes, and repair of ladles. 14i/ Deficiencies
in steel rolling and finishing operations, which current programs are in-
tended to remedy, are the inadequate levels of mechanization of older
rolling mills and the general lag in adoption of mechanization techniques
in auxiliary operations, such as cutting, straightening, coil winding,
stacking, and marking. .?.2/
C. Significance of Shortfall in Production
The lag in production of metallurgical equipment is one reason
for failure to meet schedules for commissioning new iron and steel ca-
pacity. During 1959-61 the USSR commissioned 8.2 million tons of blast
furnace capacity, 12.3 million tons of crude steel capacity, and 10.9
million tons of rolled steel capacity. .?1/ Carryover projects completed
in the first quarter of 1962 provided 2.2 million additional tons of
blast furnace capacity and 1.4 million tons of crude steel capacity. At
the end of the first quarter of 1962, however, commissioning of new ca-
pacity was short of that planned for 1959-61 by the following estimated
amounts: blast furnace capacity, 1.1 million tons; crude steel capac-
ity, 1.0 million tons; and rolled steel capacity, as much as 1.5 million
tons. 84/
Delays in commissioning new capacity, however, have not seriously
affected the planned growth in the total production of iron and steel and
are unlikely to do so in 1962-65 unless additional problems are emcoun-
tered. Such delays have been offset by success in obtaining substantially
increased production from existing facilities. On the other hand, short-
falls in production of equipment that delay the commissioning of new ca-
pacity may adversely affect plans for retirement of obsolete and ineffi-
cient equipment. Moreover, continued lags in production of special types
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of metallurgical equipment may affect programs for improving the variety
and quality of steel mill products, particularly cold rolled products,
and for mechanization and modernization of the steel industry. As dis-
cussed above, the USSR has encountered difficulty in manufacturing cer-
tain types of equipment in adequate numbers and variety, including cold
rolling mills, finishing line equipment (such as continuous lines for
galvanizing and electrolytic tinning), pipe mill equipment, heat-treating
furnaces for steel mill products (including tubular products), and various
types of equipment for mechanization and automation programs.
D. Problems
One reason for the failure to achieve the planned production of
metallurgical equipment is the lack of sufficient machine building ca-
pacity available for this purpose. Delays on the part of major equipment
producers as well as suppliers of materials and components in meeting
scheduled delivery dates frequently are caused by heavy demands on these
plants for other types of industrial equipment as well as metallurgical
equipment. Such demands may explain, in part, the absolute drop in pro-
duction of rolling mill equipment in 1961 as well as in 1957-58.
Results obtained during the first half of the current plan period
indicate that investment in major plants of the metallurgical equipment
industry is behind schedule. Also, little progress has been made in estab-
lishing specialized plants for production of equipment needed for mechani-
zation programs in the steel industry. L32/ Completion of expansion proj-
ects currently underway at major plants may be expected to alleviate ex-
isting problems, but evidence exists that Soviet planners are concerned
about the adequacy of these projects to keep pace with long-range equip-
ment requirements of the steel industry. Various proposals have been ad-
vanced for the construction of new metallurgical machine building facili-
ties, among them new facilities in eastern areas to serve new steel cen-
ters. ..?6.,/
Planning and designing difficulties also help explain failure to
meet schedules for production of desired quantities and types of equip-
ment. For example, the lag in undertaking the task of equipping new
basic oxygen steelmaking shops appears to be the result not only of de-
lays in solving technical and design problems but also of indecision in
the steel industry as well as at Gosplan and other planning and technical
levels. Negotiations conducted since 1960 with Austria to obtain L-D con-
verter equipment and technology have reflected the lack of satisfactory
progress in the domestic oxygen converter program.
Similar difficulties have been encountered in planning expansion
in other segments of the steel industry, particularly in the adoption of
modern types of rolling and finishing facilities. As a result, the various
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plants of the metallurgical equipment industry frequently do not have
well-defined production plans. For example, the important Uralmash
Plant has been cited in the Soviet press as having neither a long-range
plan nor a stable plan for the immediate years ahead for production of
rolling mill equipment. L32/ Scheduling of production at the plant level
also has been affected adversely by delays in translating basic designs
into detailed blueprints and other working drawings. In addition, both
the scheduling and the execution of production of equipment frequently
have been disrupted by ineffective coordination of related supply and
construction tasks. These inefficiencies in mobilizing and utilizing
industrial resources frequently have resulted in protracted delays in
completing major projects. As discussed above, lead times for design,
construction, and installation of large, multistand rolling mills have
been as high as 5 and even 10 years compared with 2 and perhaps 3 years
in the US.
VI. Foreign Trade
A. Exports, 1955-61*
The USSR is the leading exporter of metallurgical equipment in
the Sino-Soviet Bloc. Although it imports substantial amounts of metal-
lurgical equipment, the USSR has been a net exporter since 1955.** The
size of the export balance has varied considerably, however, as shown by
comparative data given in Table 3 on the volume (expressed in tons) of
exports and imports during 1955-61. The decline in Soviet exports in
1960 resulted from the completion of several major projects, mainly in
China and in India.
Most of the metallurgical equipment exported by the USSR is roll-
ing mill equipment. In 1959 and 1960, such exports represented 89 per-
cent and 94 percent, respectively, of all exports of metallurgical equip-
ment. During 1955-58, for which period complete data are not available,
the proportion of rolling mill exports may have been somewhat lower but
probably no lower than 75 percent.
* Although complete data are available concerning the volume of Soviet
imports of metallurgical equipment in 1961, only partial data are avail-
able for exports, as shown in Table 3 (which follows on p. 25).
** Only fragmentary data are available for the period before 1955. How-
ever, the USSR may have been a net importer during a few of these years.
Although equipment assistance was provided to Bloc countries, the gen-
erally lower level of domestic production during those years probably
did not permit as high a level of exports as that since 1955. On the
other hand, imports of equipment (in the form of reparations deliveries)
from East Germany, the major source of imports during those years, may
have been higher than in subsequent years.
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Table 3
USSR: Exports and Imports
of Metallurgical Equipment and Rolling Mill Equipment a/
1955-61
a.
Thousand Metric Tons
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
Exports
Metallurgical
equipment
42.2
N.A.
52.9
60.3
59.2
39.9
9.612/
Of which:
Rolling mill
equipment
6.912/
5.4 b/
5.912/
6.3 b/
52.7
37.4
9.512/
Imports
Metallurgical
equipment
35.2
26.4
33.7
27.4
21.3
24.6
26.7
Of which:
Rolling mill
equipment 33.3
26.1
32.7
26.3
20.9
24.2
26.1
Export balance
Metallurgical
equipment
7.0
N.A.
19.2
32.9
37.9
15.3
N.A.
Rolling mill
equipment
fin
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
31.8
13.2
N.A.
a.
Representing only explicit shipments of equipment. Data are not
available for shipments of equipment as part of complete enterprises,
which make up the larger share of exports.
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The principal recipients of Soviet exports of rolling mill
equipment have been Bloc countries. Several of these countries pro-
duce rolling mill equipment but not in adequate quantity or variety
to meet the needs of their steel industries. The USSR, the largest
Bloc producer of rolling mill equipment, has been the principal sup-
plier of this equipment, particularly the larger and more complex mills
that other Bloc countries do not have the capability to manufacture.
Examples include the modern hot and cold sheet and strip mills needed
to expand production of flat rolled products.*
Soviet shipments to the Bloc of rolling mills and other types
of metallurgical equipment have been particularly important in the
construction of new steel plants and expansion of major existing plants.
Soviet equipment sent to Communist China during the 1950's contributed
substantially to the buildup of capacity of large plants at An-shall,
Wu-han, Pao-t'ou, and several other locations. f2/ Poland received
130,000 tons of Soviet equipment during 1945-60, most of which went to
the Lenin Metallurgical Plant in Nowa Huta. 22/ Other important metal-
lurgical plants in the Bloc that have received substantial amounts of
equipment from the USSR include the Lenin Metallurgical Plant in Dimi-
trovo, Bulgaria 22'; the Hunedoara Metallurgical Combine in Rumania 22/-
,
and the Danube Metallurgical Combine in Dunaujvaros (formerly Sztalin-
varos), Hungary. 2jJ Czechoslovakia has received a considerable amount
of Soviet metallurgical equipment, mainly rolling mill equipment, for
several major plants. 2L/
The USSR also has exported metallurgical equipment to several
underdeveloped countries, including Egypt and India. The latter has
received substantial amounts of equipment for construction at Bhilai
of an integrated steel plant with a capacity of 1 million tons of crude
steel. The major items of equipment installed at Bhilai were a blooming
mill, a continuous billet mill, a rail-structural mill, a merchant mill,
and equipment for three coke batteries, three blast furnaces with
volumes of 1,033 cu m each, and six open-hearth furnaces with capacities
of 250 tons each. 5.2/
B. Imports, 1955-61
Most of the metallurgical equipment imported by the USSR consists
of rolling mill equipment (see Table 3**). During 1955-61, imports of
rolling mill equipment accounted for 97 percent of the total weight of
all metallurgical equipment imported by the USSR, helping to offset, at
least in part, the substantial volume of Soviet exports of this equipment.
* For a list of mills of this type that the USSR has built or is sched-
uled to build for Bloc countries, see Appendix B.
** P. 25, above.
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The principal suppliers of rolling mill equipment are East Germany and
Czechoslovakia. During the period 1955-61, these two countries accounted
for more than 90 percent of the total Soviet imports of rolling equipment,
as shown in Table 4.
Table 4
USSR: Imports of Rolling Mill Equipment
1955-61
Thousand Metric Tons
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
Total
33.3
26.1
32.7
26.3
20.9
24.2
26.1
Of which:
Czechoslovakia
6.9
3.2
10.4
9.5
8.6
9.5
13.1
East Germany
26.4
22.9
21.7
14.6
9.2
12.6
11.5
Czechoslovakia and
East Germany as a
percent of total 100 100 98 92 85 91 94
East Germany has provided the USSR with wire-drawing equipment,
small bar mills, tube mill equipment, and a wide variety of auxiliary
equipment and components for rolling mills, such as shears, levelers,
roller tables, gears, and spindles. .2.Y Equipment recently obtained
from Czechoslovakia includes a continuous billet mill, much of the
equipment for a 1,120-mm blooming mill, and various types of auxiliary
equipment for rolling mills. 21/
Imports from the West have made up only a small part of the total
Soviet imports of metallurgical equipment. Imports of rolling mill equip-
ment from the West have not included complete rolling mill assemblies,
only auxiliary equipment. Austria has provided auxiliary rolling mill
equipment and rolls for rolling mills as well as small amounts of steel
smelting equipment. IV France and West Germany also have provided small
amounts of auxiliary rolling mill equipment. 212/
C. Trends, 1961-65
Althoudl the planned volume of Soviet exports of metallurgical
equipment during 1961-65 is not known, the USSR probably will continue
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to export substantial amounts of this equipment, mainly to the Bloc.
Czechoslovakia is scheduled to receive equipment for its new metal-
lurgical plant in East Slovakia, including a slabbing mill, a 1,700-mm
continuous hot strip mill, and a 1,280-mm tandem cold sheet mill. 100/
Planned shipments to Bulgaria include much of the equipment for the new
metallurgical plant to be built at Kremikovtsi. 101/ Rumania is sched-
uled to receive a semicontinuous hot sheet mill for its new plant at
Galati. 102/ Poland will receive equipment for the Lenin Metallurgical
Plant and other plants, including two slabbing mills, a pipe rolling
mill, and a continuous cold rolling mill. 103/ Planned shipments to
East Germany are not definitely known, but they may include a continuous
hot strip mill and a cold sheet mill. 104/ The USSR also plans to pro-
vide equipment to North Korea, particularly for the Kimchaek Iron and
Steel Works. 105/ In the case of China, aggregate shipments of equip-
ment are not likely to be as large as those during 1955-60. Deliveries
were completed in 1961 of equipment for a few outstanding projects, in-
cluding a rail-structural mill and a seamless tube mill, 106/ but only
comparatively small amounts of equipment are known to be scheduled dur-
ing 1962-65.
In addition, the USSR plans to provide metallurgical equipment
to underdeveloped countries, mainly India and Egypt. India is to
receive Soviet assistance for expanding crude steel capacity at the
RI-dial Metallurgical Plant from 1.0 million to 2.5 million tons. 107/
Egypt is scheduled to receive from the USSR rolling mill equipment
valued at 33 million rubles,* including a slabbing mill, a sheet mill,
and cold strip mills. 108/ Smaller amounts of equipment are scheduled
for shipment to Indonesia and Cuba. 109/
On the other hand, two recent trends appear likely to modify
the pattern of trade prevailing during 1955-60. In the first place,
several Bloc countries are becoming more important as producers and sup-
pliers of rolling mill equipment.** Although the position of the USSR
as the principal Bloc supplier of this equipment, particularly the larger
and more complex rolling mills, is unlikely to change, the trend toward
increased activity by these Bloc countries may be expected to reduce de-
pendence on the USSR for some types of rolling mills. In addition, the
USSR is scheduled to increase its imports from Bloc countries of those
types of rolling mill equipment within their productive capacities. From
the point of view of the USSR, these developments have the advantage of
* In new rubles as established by the Soviet currency reform of
1 January 1961. A nominal rate of exchange based on the gold content
of the respective currencies is 0.90 ruble to US $1. This rate, how-
ever, should not be interpreted as a precise ruble-dollar relationship
that will yield an equivalent dollar value.
** For a brief account of these changes, see Appendix C.
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enabling Soviet machine building plants to devote greater attention to
other required types of equipment.
The second significant trend is the growing interest of the
Bloc in obtaining equipment from the West, suggesting that the gradual
strengthening of Bloc capabilities, as mentioned above, is not suffi-
cient to keep pace with growing requirements for metallurgical equip-
ment. Moreover, some of the types sought from the West are those that
the USSR has not produced in sufficient quantities for its own needs.
Significant quantities of equipment, including pipe mill equipment and
finishing facilities, already have been obtained by the European Satel-
lites from Western manufacturers of equipment. For example, Poland,
which to date has been the principal recipient of Western equipment,
has obtained a seamless pipe mill from West Germany 110/; a hot dip
tinning installation from the UK 111/; and a considerable quantity of
finishing equipment from the US, including a continuous galvanizing
line (installed in 1961), an electrolytic tinning line (to be put into
operation in 1963), and various specialized auxiliary installations. 112/
In addition, most Bloc countries have made extensive inquiries
and apparently have placed a considerable number of new orders with
Western manufacturers of equipment. For example, East Germany is sched-
uled to receive from West Germany during 1962-64 two pipe-welding in-
stallations; a cold sheet mill; a rod mill; cold drawing facilities for
tubes, bars, and wire; and auxiliary equipment for heat treatment and
vacuum casting. 113/ East Germany also has ordered tube rolling and
drawing facilities from France for delivery during 1962-64. 114/ Rumania
reportedly has ordered a considerable amount of rolling mill equipment
from West Germany, including a continuous billet mill, two merchant mills,
and a continuous rod mill. 115/ Rumania also has placed an order with a
Franco-British consortium for a plate mill. 116/ Considerable interest
also has been shown by Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Hungary in
obtaining equipment from the West. The full extent of negotiations and
order-placing is not clear, but available evidence indicates a trend of
growing reliance by the Bloc on the West for an important share of its
new rolling and finishing facilities.
The USSR, confronted with a lag in its own domestic converter
program, has engaged in protracted negotiations since 1960 with Austria
for acquisition of L-D oxygen converter equipment and technology. The
negotiations also are of interest to the European Satellites, some of
which have negotiated independently -- and so far unsuccessfully --
with the L-D firm, as the USSR has agreed to provide assistance to them
in constructing new oxygen converter shops.
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APPENDIX A
USSR: LOCATIONS AND PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS OF THE MAJOR PLANTS
OF THE METALLURGICAL EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY
1. Alma-Ata Heavy Machine Building Plant (AZTM)
Location: Alma-Ata
Principal products: Wire-drawing and tube-drawing mills; equipment
for coke batteries, blast furnaces and roll-
ing mills.
2. Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Equipment Plant (DZMO)
Location: Dnepropetrovsk
Principal products: Equipment for coke batteries, blast furnaces,
open-hearth furnaces, and electric furnaces;
components for continuous casting installa-
tions and rolling mills; auxiliary equipment
such as machines for baling scrap and clean-
ing and servicing open-hearth furnaces
(probably the widest range of individual
types of metallurgical equipment of any
plant in the industry).
3. Elektrostal' Heavy Machine Building Plant (EZTM)
Location: Elektrostal'
Principal products: Pipe and tube mills, structural and bar mills,
liquid friction bearings for rolling mills.
4. Irkutsk Heavy Machine Building Plant (IZTM)
Location: Irkutsk
Principal products: Equipment for blast furnaces and open-hearth
furnaces and for wire-drawing and tube-
drawing mills; components and auxiliary
units for rolling mills.
5. Novo-Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Building Plant (NKMZ)
Location: Kramatorsk
Principal products: Hot strip mills, slabbing mills, and cold wide
strip mills; large-capacity cranes and ladles
for steel casting shops; mixers and shears.
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6. Staro-Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Building Plant (SKMZ)
Location: Kramatorsk
Principal products: Cold narrow strip mills, including multiroll
(Sendzimir-type) cold rolling mills; auxiliary
equipment for processing strip and sheet, such
as levelers, shears, trimming lines, and sheet
stackers; auxiliary equipment for pipe mills.
7. South Ural Heavy Machine Building Plant (YuZTM)
Location: Orsk
Principal products: Equipment for coke batteries and blast furnaces,
steel-pouring ladles, continuous casting in-
stallations, blooming mills, billet mills.
8. Ural Heavy Machine Building Plant imeni Ordzhonikidze
(Uralmash or UZTM)
Location: Sverdlovsk
Principal products: Blast furnace equipment, blooming mills, billet
mills, plate mills, rail and structural mills,
cold rolling mills, pipe and tube rolling
mills, wheel rolling mills.
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APPENDIX B
MODERN HOT AND COLD STEEL SHEET AND STRIP MILLS
BUILT (OR TO BE BUILT) BY THE USSR FOR BLOC COUNTRIES
1955-65
1. 1,700-mm continuous hot sheet mill
Location: Kosice, Czechoslovakia
Remarks: Scheduled to go into operation in 1964. The Novo Krama-
torsk Heavy Machine Building Plant is to provide the
mechanical equipment. Czechoslovakia is to provide the
necessary electrical equipment.
2. 1,280-mm, 5-stand, 4-high tandem cold sheet mill
Location: Kosice, Czechoslovakia
Remarks: Scheduled to go into operation in 1963. The Uralmash
plant is building the mill. Part of the equipment has
been shipped.
3. 1,700-mm, 10-stand, 4-high continuous hot sheet mill
Location: Nowa Huta, Poland
Remarks: Put into operation in 1955. Built by the Novo Kramatorsk
Heavy Machine Building Plant.
4. 1,700-mm, 5-stand, 4-high tandem cold sheet mill
Location: Nowa Huta, Poland
Remarks: Put into operation in 1958. Probably built by the Uralmash
plant.
5. 1,500-mm hot sheet mill
Location: Dunaujvaros, Hungary
Remarks: Put into operation in 1960. Built by the Novo Kramatorsk
Heavy Machine Building Plant.
6. 1,500-mm cold sheet mill
Location: Dunaujvaros, Hungary
Remarks: Expected to be in operation in 1963. Being built by the
Uralmash plant.
7 1,200-mm continuous hot strip mill
Location: Eisenhuettenstadt, East Germany
Remarks: The USSR may provide equipment for a mill of this type,
which East Germany unsuccessfully sought to obtain
from a US firm. 117/
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8. Cold sheet mill
Location: Eisenhuettenstadt, East Germany
Remarks: Similar to 7, above.
9. Semicontinuous hot strip mill
Location: Galati, Rumania
Remarks: One of the most important mills planned for the new steel
plant at Galati.
10. 2,800/1,700-mm semicontinuous hot sheet mill
Location: An-shan, China
Remarks: 2,800-mm plate mill built by the Uralmash plant and put into
operation in 1958. The 1,700-mm, 6-stand sheet mill was
built by the Novo Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Building Plant
and put into operation in 1959.
11. 1,700/1,200-mm cold rolling mill
Location: An-shan, China
Remarks: Built by the Uralmash plant and put into operation in 1961.
12. 2,300/1,700-mm hot sheet mill
Location: T'ai-yuan, China
Remarks: Built by the Novo Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Building Plant.
Delivery of equipment is believed to have been completed
early in 1960, and the mill may have gone into operation
later that year.
13. 2,800-mm plate mill
Location: Wu-han, China
Remarks: The Uralmash plant was shipping equipment in 1959, and the
mill may have been put into operation in 1961.
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APPENDIX C
EXPORTS OF ROLLING MILL EQUIPMENT BY THE EUROPEAN SATELLITES
A. Exports, 1955-60
Apart from the USSR, only Czechoslovakia and East Germany exported
rolling mill equipment in substantial quantities during 1955-60. Czecho-
slovakia, the second most important Bloc producer of rolling mill equip-
ment, normally exports more than one-half of its domestic production of
this equipment. 118/ In 1960, Czechoslovakia produced 34,900 tons of
rolling mill equipment compared with 23,700 tons in 1959 and 10,200 tons
in 1956. 119/ Of the 120,100 tons of this equipment produced by Czecho-
slovakia during 1955-60, the USSR received 4o percent, or about 75 per-
cent of all exports. 120/ North Korea has been the principal recipient
of the remaining Czechoslovak exports of rolling mill equipment, and
smaller amounts have been received by Poland, East Germany, China, and
Egypt. 121/ Among the principal types of rolling mills manufactured
by Czechoslovakia for both domestic and export markets are blooming
mills; continuous billet mills; large bar mills; continuous mills for
production of rod, wire, and narrow strip; and pipe and tube mills,
mainly for small-diameter products. On the other hand, Czechoslovakia
has not undertaken the manufacture of continuous wide strip mills or
continuous-type cold rolling mills.
East Germany formerly ranked ahead of Czechoslovakia in annual out-
put of rolling mill equipment but in recent years has fallen behind.
Whereas Czechoslovakia has considerably increased its production of
rolling mill equipment, East German production has declined. In 1960,
East Germany produced 15,900 tons of this equipment compared with
27,800 tons in 1956. 122/ Most of the rolling mill equipment produced
by East Germany has been for export, primarily to the USSR. The USSR,
in fact, received 90 percent of the 118,400 tons of rolling mill equip-
ment produced by East Germany during 1955-60. 123/ The principal types
manufactured by East Germany are small bar mills, wire drawing equipment,
pipe mill equipment, small sheet and cold rolling mills, and a wide
variety of auxiliary equipment.
During 1955-60, only comparatively small amounts of rolling mill
equipment were exported by other Bloc countries. Hungary has exported
pipe and tube mill equipment, 124/ and Poland has exported components
for rolling mills, including rolls, reduction gears, and pinion stands.
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B. Trends, 1961-65
In 1961, Czechoslovakia produced 60,500 tons of rolling mill equip-
ment -- not only substantially more than the 34,900 tons produced in 1960
but also only slightly below the goal of 66,700 tons for 1965. 125/ Con-
tinued production at this level in 1962-65 probably would make feasible
fulfillment of the plan to provide the USSR with 115,000 tons of rolling
mill equipment during 1961-65. 126/ Shipments to the USSR during the pre-
ceding 5-year period amounted to 41,200 tons.
Several other Bloc countries plan to increase exports of rolling mill
equipment. East Germany is scheduled to step up its exports of rolling
mill equipment to its principal customer, the USSR, during 1961-65. 127/
Hungary, which already has shipped pipe mill equipment to Chieng-tu in
China, has started delivery of additional equipment for another pipe plant
in China. 128/ Hungary also is expected to provide equipment for the
overhaul of several pipe and tube plants in the USSR and Czechoslovakia 129/
and may provide new pipe mill installations to other Bloc countries and
possibly non-Bloc countries. 130/ Poland began to export significant
quantities of rolling mill equipment in 1961 and apparently plans to in-
crease exports through 1965. Polish exports in 1961 included a small bar
mill to India, 131/ machinery for the manufacture of wheels and axles to
Yugoslavia, 132/ and part of the equipment for a billet mill to East Ger-
many. 133/ Delivery of the remainder of the equipment for this billet
mill was to have been made in 1962, and equipment for a plate mill also
is to be provided to East Germany by 1964. 134/ Poland also plans to
ship additional rolling mill equipment to India and Yugoslavia, and
negotiations with several other non-Bloc countries may result in
additional orders for rolling mill equipment. 135/ Moreover, as part
payment for the substantial amounts of equipment to be imported from
the USSR, Poland has undertaken to provide that country with metal-
lurgical equipment within its productive capacity. 136/
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