German Steel Makers Get Serious about Russia

German steel makers are getting serious about Russia. According to Michael Hanisch, the President of Germany's SMS Demag AG, who is now taking parting the economic forum in St. Petersburg, his company intends to build a large steel mill in the Urals to produce large diameter pipes.

Mr. Hanisch said the overall investment was planned at EUR 1.2 billion. The mill is expected to output first pipes in three years after the beginning of its construction and will employ thousands of Russia's highly skilled workers. A special programme to educate metallurgists for the project will be introduced in leading colleges in Russia.

A detailed interview with Michael Hanisch will be published at a later time.