Head of State reviews sheet metal manufacturing process

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed the metal rolling process controlled from the central control panel of the casting and rolling complex at the Uzbek Metallurgical Plant.

In recent years, particular attention has been paid to modernizing the plant and increasing its production capacity. As a result, the enterprise’s net profit rose from $14 million in 2017 to $23 million in 2025.

The Head of State laid the foundation stone for the casting and rolling complex during his visit to Bekabad on August 29, 2018.

The total cost of the project is $839 million. This strategically important complex was built on an area of 18 hectares and is designed to meet the country’s growing demand for metal products.

Plans call for increasing total production here to 2 million tons, additionally producing 1.04 million tons of coiled sheet metal, and raising the plant’s total workforce to 7,000 employees.

At the complex, drawing on the expertise of the Italian company Danieli, the continuous steel casting unit has for the first time been integrated with all technological equipment and is operated from a single control panel.

 Under the previous technology, the processes had to be managed from four or five control panels operated by nine employees. Thanks to the unified control system, the process is now monitored by only three specialists.

The President emphasized the need to integrate artificial intelligence technologies into the unified control system and enhance the complex’s operational stability and economic efficiency.

In terms of equipment safety and operating speed, the complex is unique and has no counterparts in Central Asia. In particular, its main rolls can be replaced automatically, without stopping the production process or human intervention, in just five to seven minutes instead of the previous 30 to 40 minutes.

The President also reviewed samples of products made from sheet metal.

Information from responsible officials was also presented. In particular, they reported on the value chain in the production of hot-rolled sheet metal and on products recommended for domestic production.

Practical measures were also explained to regulate the circulation of reinforcing steel products in the construction industry, strengthen oversight of the use of ferrous rolled metal at construction sites, and reduce seismic risks.