Zaporizhstal, is Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

's fourth largest steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 maker with an annual capacity of 4.5 mil. tonnes of steel, 3.3 mil. tonnes of pig iron

Pig iron

Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...

, 4.1 mil. of finished steel products, and ranks 54th in the world. The leader of the national industry is Kryvorizhstal

Kryvorizhstal

Kryvorizhstal is Ukraine's largest integrated steel company located in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.Bought in 2005 by Mittal Steel, the company is one of the most important businesses in Ukraine and a globally important steel producer. It is the largest steel manufacturer in Ukraine and...

. The company is Ukraine's only manufacturer of cold-rolled sheets, used in car manufacturing, as well as tinplates and polished stainless and alloyed steel. Zaporizhstal is located in the city of Zaporizhia

Zaporizhia

Zaporizhia or Zaporozhye [formerly Alexandrovsk ] is a city in southeastern Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative center of the Zaporizhia Oblast...

, in a region with the highest per capita electricity output in Ukraine, close to raw material suppliers and steel consumers (pipe and machine building companies). The company was founded in 1931.

Ownership

Eduard Shifrin

Eduard Shifrin

Eduard Shifrin is an entrepreneur, born in Dnipropetrovsk in the Soviet Union and now resident in London. He is of Jewish ancestry....

, co-founder with Alex Shnaider

Alex Shnaider

Alex Shnaider is a Russian-born Canadian entrepreneur and former commodities trader. He is co-founder with Eduard Shifrin of the Midland Group. He was educated at York University in Toronto....

 of Midland Group

Midland Group

The Midland Group is an international trading and investment holding company, Registered in Guernsey under the name Midland Resources Holding Ltd, the group owns a number of subsidiaries across the agriculture, manufacturing, real estate, shipping and steel industries.Primarily active in the...

 (a holding company headquartered in Guernsey

Guernsey

Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...

 that embraces interests in steel (Zaporizhstal), shipping, real estate, agriculture and motorsport with Midland F1 Racing

Midland F1 Racing

Midland F1 Racing was a Formula One constructor and racing team. It competed in the 2006 Formula One season with drivers Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro. The team was created by the renaming of Jordan Grand Prix after its purchase by Canadian businessman, and owner of the Midland Group, Alex...

), take the control of privatised steelmaker Zaporizhstal.

Production

In 2003, the company produced 4,355 ths. tonnes of raw steel (market share of 12%) and 3,625 ths. tonnes of finished steel products (11% share). Exports, delivered to 59 countries, accounted for 70% of Zaporizhstal's 2003 sales, with China, Middle Eastern states and the CIS among the main destinations.

Environment

Zaporizhstal has been acknowledged as the most unfriendly Ukrainian enterprise to the environment. Its harmful substances exceed three times of admissible norms, Zaporiz'ka Pravda reported.