Construction of the second Mariupol integrated mill started in 1931 right on the coast of Azov Sea. The first blast furnace was tapped just two years later. In 1935 the very first open-hearth shop in whole SSSR (250 tonnes furnace) was put into operation.
A promising beginning was interrupted by the world war. As the frontline was approaching, most of unique machineries was dismantled and transported to Ural. Last two trains with workers left in the morning of October 8th 1941, the town was conquered in the evening of the same day. The plant was completely destroyed by Nazis during the months after.
The production has been restarted in 1944 already.
In 1953 brand new sintering plant was built outside the town of Mariupol, still in use today and the largest one in Europe.
New way of steel processing has been set in in 1967 when czech company Vitkovice installed 3600 heavy plate mill here. The growth continued in 1977 by construction of BOF shop with two 350 tonnes converters and continuous caster. Old open-hearth furnaces were shutdown in 2011.
Today Azovstal is part of Metinvest Holding.
Keywords: azovstal, metinvest holding, mariupol, ukrajina, donbas, donbass, eastern ukraine, azovské moře, železárny, ironworks, steelworks, steel mill, blast furnace, hochofen, vysoká pec, industrial architecture, industriální fotografie
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