Bekaert in negotiations with UralKord

Kortrijk, Belgium -- Bekaert recently opened talks on exclusive cooperation with three linked companies in Russia: Uralkord, Kordinvest and TTMP. Bekaert says Uralkord, located in Magnitogorsk (1700 km east of Moscow) is one of the most competitive steel cord production platforms in Russia today and supplies around one quarterof the Russian market. Kordinvest, it adds, is a management company located in Oriol (360 km south of Moscow), as is the engineering company TTMP, which manufactures equipment for the group.

In a statement, Bekaert said, "Based on the growth potential in tyre manufacturing for both passenger cars and trucks, Bekaert expects a significant increase in demand for steel cord products. On the one hand, there is a clear evolution in the demand for top quality products from Russian tyre manufacturers; on the other hand, Bekaert's international steel cord customers are expanding their tyre production capacity in Russia. Therefore, Bekaert wants to have its own production capacity so that it can provide optimal service to customers in Russia, as it does in every major market. "

Bekaert will take a closer look at the possibility of finding a local supply of wire rod, Bekaert's most important raw material, as well as possible technological exchanges with universities and research centres which fit the company's open innovation policy.