Tsiuri Melikidze

Rustavi Steel LLC

In 2011, Rustavi steel LLC was established to acquire the assets of the Rustavi Metallurgical Plant. Rustavi Metallurgical Plant one of Georgia's largest industrial enterprises, is situated 30 kilometres to the south of Georgia's capital Tbilisi. The Plant is the largest metallurgical complex in the entire Caucasus region. The Rustavi Metallurgical Plant was founded in 1948 as the first fully integrated metallurgical complex in the South Caucasus and produced steel, hot-rolled seamless pipes and various products made of pig iron, aluminium or iron. The Plant produced seamless pipes to meet the requirements of the oil fields of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and the Middle East. Today, the Plant's new management and owners are embarking on a major programee of investment and re-structuring to re-establish the company in regional markets, and expand into new global markets. The Plant is operating successfully and is manufacturing reinforcing bars, seamless pipes, square billets, pig-iron castings, metal constructions, mechanical parts, shaped castings, granulated slag, silicon-manganese, lime and limestone. To strengthen its market position, management's first task is to increase the Plant's production capacity. A systematic modernization and re-equipment programme is underway, new technologies are being introduced, training of young employees with the help of experienced professionals, has been given a priority. The Plant currently exports to the European Union, US, Russian and Middle Eastern markets as well as to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Rustavi Steel LLC employs over 2,100 people.