Metinvest will have green steel and modernized environmental production facilities after the war

After the war, Metinvest will have “green” steel and modernized greener production facilities. The company’s chief operating officer, Olexander Myronenko, told Forbes in an interview, the group said in a statement.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Metinvest has lost two-thirds of its estimated value. Two plants – Azovstal and Ilyich Iron and Steel Works – are under occupation. Despite the constant shelling and power outages, the team of nearly 60,000 people is working with full dedication.

The company is currently in the mode of uniting around the action. According to Oleksandr Myronenko, there is now a vector to restore production, increase efficiency and create additional opportunities to earn money. Metinvest is introducing additional bonuses and resuming small-scale investments.

«People associate the future with stable production and investments in the renewal of production assets. We cannot talk about it in the long term yet. But after the war, we will have green steel and modernized production facilities that reduce the burden on the environment. We are focused on the fact that we have to work, keep our enterprises and staff and attract new employees, because we have a lot of mobilized,» noted the group’s operations director.

According to Myronenko, the company has been experiencing stressful changes since 2014, so the group has adapted to some extent. However, over the past three years, Metinvest has shown real cohesion.

«The top management team tells us what to do at the enterprises. The companies can easily talk about management gaps and recommend how to do things better. They are always listened to and given a certain freedom of action,» he said.

Oleksandr Myronenko says the company has learned to adapt to blackouts, gas supply interruptions, logistics route reorganization and rocket attacks. Employees are able to eliminate the consequences of great speed. In civilian life, it used to take up to a week to restore a blast furnace, but now it takes a day or two.

Metinvest’s Chief Operating Officer is convinced that the military zeal will be transformed into recovery, rebuilding, investment and reconstruction of the company’s enterprises. The Group has certain plans and is waiting for the war to end to start implementing them.

«Metal will be the basis for rebuilding all damaged infrastructure, buildings and power plants. Changing the focus from supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces to supporting the company and the country will be a key challenge,» he said.

Metinvest Group has been recognized as one of the largest investors in Ukraine in 2022-2023. The company was ranked second in the corresponding rating by the Ukrainian edition of Forbes. The top investment projects of 2023 included the launch of new longwalls at Pokrovske Coal Group, modernization and repair of chambers at Kametstal and Zaporizhstal, as well as energy projects.