Commissioning of the factory's second workshop and the launch of the main machinery enabled BCF to move from the production of semi-finished aluminium products to the production of cabling and wiring products with an aluminium alloy core.
These products have the competitive advantage in Russia as currently there are no analogues being produced in the country.
The aluminium alloy processing capacity of the production facility is 4,400 tonnes, all of which will be supplied by RUSAL. BCF plans to reach maximum output within three years.
The facility will supply three types of cabling and wiring products manufactured from aluminium alloys to the Russian and CIS markets, including oil submersible cables, self-supporting insulated wires and flexible wires for use in industrial facilities. In addition, the factory will continue to produce aluminium wires, strands and conductors necessary to produce other types of cabling products.
'At its full production cycle, the facility will contribute to the region's industrial potential. The advantage that BCF cabling and wiring products have is that there are currently no analogues on the domestic market, and there is already demand from the Russian power grid, oil and oil-field service companies,' - said RUSAL's Head of New Projects Directorate, Alexey Arnautov.
RUSAL and the ELKA-Cable Group signed an agreement for the production of cabling products and conductors in November 2016. The financing of the project is equal between the two partners, each of which owns a 50% equity stake. The total investment amounts to RUB 765 mln.
This project was implemented as part of RUSAL's programme of improving inefficient facilities in order to create new processing operations and competitive products with high added value.