The preparations for the 30th International Metal Expo - 2024 are coming to the finishing line.
On 17 September, Moscow Polytechnic played host to a regular meeting of the Organising Committee of Metal-Expo'2024. The meeting reviewed the programme of business events for the autumn Metal Week in Moscow, which will run from 29 October to 1 November. Moscow Polytechnic, which has over 16,000 students enrolled in a range of programmes, including metallurgical specialities, has several distributed campuses. The Organising Committee visited the engineering laboratories on Bolshaya Semyonovskaya Street, where they were interested in new technological developments in the automotive industry and innovative foundry technologies. The Organising Committee meeting was attended by representatives of professional associations and unions in the metallurgy and related industries, as well as research institutes that play an active role in the organisation and hosting of congress and exhibition events.
Mr. Alexander Romanov, Co-Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 30th International Industrial Exhibition Metal-Expo, noted that the market and its participants are currently undergoing significant changes. Nevertheless, all the country's leading metallurgical companies will be present at the Metallurgists' Forum, which will be held at Expocentre Fairgrounds in Krasnaya Presnya. In total, there are over 800 industrial companies. Many foreign market players interested in developing mutually beneficial co-operation with Russian companies in various business areas have also confirmed their participation in the forum. The area of the 30th anniversary exhibition will increase up to 45 thousand square metres, and more than 30 thousand consumers of metal products from all key industries will visit the expositions.
This year, Metal-Expo will be held in several pavilions of the Expocentre Fairgrounds. Leading companies in the fields of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy will be in attendance, as well as MetallurgMash, which will showcase manufacturers and suppliers of modern equipment, technologies, and innovative solutions for metallurgy and metalworking. The exhibition platform at Expocentre will facilitate new business opportunities for exhibitors and visitors at the Metallurgical Forum.
The Organising Committee discussed the current situation on the world and Russian markets, including pricing, inflation and the high Central Bank rate, export supplies and difficulties with settlements, and other topical issues. In 2022, Russia produced 70 million tonnes of steel. We anticipate a decline in steel production by the end of 2024 of between 5 and 7%. Mr. Alexander Romanov made this forecast. Mr. Sentyurin, Head of the Russian Steel Association, expressed concurrence with this assessment. He highlighted the reduction in capacity utilisation at steel mills. The decline in metal consumption on the domestic market is attributable to a number of factors, including the high key refinancing rate, the impact of inflation, and the cancellation of preferential mortgage programmes. These developments could result in builders losing up to 30% of construction volumes next year.
