"We have started the construction of a factory in Turkey. On March 15 I'll lay the foundation stone. The plant is expected to reach a production capacity of 2.6 million metric tons of steel and hot-rolled mill products by 2010," Rashnikov said.
In May 2007, MMK and Turkish coal company Atakas Group announced plans to build a metals complex in the industrial zones of Istanbul and Iskenderun with annual output of 2.6 million metric tons of metal products.
In July 2007, MMK acquired a stake of 50% plus one share in Atakas Metalurji for $102 million. The company will be eventually renamed MMK Atakas Metalurji.
MMK is the largest enterprise in Russia's steel industry accounting for about 20% of all steel products sold on the domestic market. MMK is a major fully integrated steel making complex performing the complete production cycle from preparation of iron ore materials to high added value processing of steel.