Russian Auto Parts Maker Joins Global Industry with New State-of-the-Art Plant

    SHADRINSK, Kurgan Region, Russia--Feb. 18, 2003-- SHAAZ, a division of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC), today announced that it has become the world's largest producer of advanced CuproBraze(R) heat exchangers, a cutting-edge technology developed by the International Copper Association (ICA).
    As part of its strategy to vertically integrate, UMMC provided SHAAZ with sufficient financing to transform its Soviet-era plant into a globally competitive, advanced manufacturing facility. The plant is certified in Russia according to ISO 9001 standards, which makes it eligible to supply parts to the global automotive marketplace. Furthermore, the use of CuproBraze technology allows SHAAZ to strategically compete with manufacturers hampered by their commitments to 30-year-old aluminum-based technologies.
    A formal dedication ceremony was held today in Shadrinsk to mark the completion of the new CuproBraze production facility and the commencement of high-volume production at SHAAZ. By the year 2005, the new CuproBraze plant will have a manufacturing capacity of 450,000 radiators, including 250,000 charge air coolers (CACs) per year, making it the largest CuproBraze production line in the world.
    To celebrate the event, special guests from the automotive industry were invited to observe the smoothly running operation for manufacturing mobile heat exchanger cores. The process began with the conversion of copper strip into fins and the fabrication of brass tubes, continued with the coating and assembly of the components, and ended with the emergence of fully assembled, completely brazed cores from the continuous-belt brazing furnace.

    Selling to a Global Market

    More and more, automotive components and systems are bought from a global market that is unaffected by national borders. Many Russian leaders view the establishment of a globally competitive auto and truck industry as the key to economic growth at home.
    SHAAZ is already a major producer of conventional soldered radiators for trucks and buses, as well as minibuses, light trucks and passenger cars in Russia. Approximately 52 percent of its production is for OEM applications and the rest for the aftermarket. Its customer base includes major vehicle producers in Russia such as KAMAZ. Additionally, Caterpillar, Ford and many other Western companies in Russia are looking at partnering with SHAAZ because of its advanced technology. These partnerships could create additional opportunities for SHAAZ to export its products.

    A Boost from Western Technology

    The past year was a busy time for SHAAZ. The company accepted delivery on millions of dollars of equipment, which was arranged for efficient production in 12,000 square meters (130,000 square feet) of floor space.
    According to Vladimir Kolotushkin, general director of SHAAZ, the Russian automotive industry as a whole is emerging as a manufacturing power as a result of investments in the latest technologies. "As long as the demand is present and our prices are competitive, nothing can prevent us from exporting CuproBraze heat exchangers anywhere on the globe," said Mr. Kolotushkin. "We can supply CuproBraze charge air coolers to help Western truck and off-road manufacturers meet their diesel emission requirements."
    The heart of the CuproBraze production line is a continuous belt furnace for brazing the heat exchanger cores in a nitrogen atmosphere. This high-capacity furnace was designed and built by Seco/Warwick Limited, a U.S./Polish joint venture company located in Swiebodzin, Poland. Seco/Warwick world headquarters is in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
    If the furnace is the heart of the process, then the specialized machinery provides the muscle. Keeping pace with a continuous furnace running at full capacity requires the assembly of hundreds of heat exchanger cores per day, which in turn requires the fabrication of tons of brass tubes and copper fins. "We could not keep up this high production rate without advanced machinery, including the automated spray and slurry machines and the semi-automated core assembly machine," said Vladimir Starikov, Technical Director. SHAAZ procured much of the necessary specialized machinery from Scholer Spezialmaschinenbau GmbH of Germany, paving the way for high-volume production.
    The specialized machinery also includes a laser tube-welding machine that converts brass strip into tubes. The brass strip is folded and the sides are rapidly laser welded together in one smooth operation. The tubes are then cut to length and stacked in the same machine, ready for coating and assembly. Meanwhile, a corrugated fin machine converts copper strip into fins. The new fin machines can fabricate the special internal fins and turbulizers used in new designs of charge air coolers.

    Future Global Marketing Efforts

    In November 2002, SHAAZ exhibited CuproBraze products at the Tokyo Motor Show. As part of its global marketing strategy, SHAAZ joined the North American Radiator Service Association (NARSA) in 2002 and will exhibit and deliver a speech at NARSA's trade show in March 2003, in San Diego, California. It also will participate at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Congress and Exhibit in Detroit in March 2003, displaying a variety of products, including charge air coolers.
    "With the establishment of the capacity to manufacture CuproBraze heat exchangers in volume, SHAAZ will increase the scope of its market to include OEMs and aftermarket dealers throughout the world," said Kolotushkin. "While we will continue to be a key supplier to the Russian auto and truck industry, our goal is to export 50 percent of our production capacity. Our global competitiveness will be a key measure of our success, and CuproBraze technology will be a key ingredient in that success. Our goal is to ramp up production to 100 percent of capacity by 2005."
    Dedicated and supportive team players in the SHAAZ project from the very beginning, ICA participants eagerly have awaited the plant's opening. "We are pleased that SHAAZ has chosen ICA's CuproBraze technology for its new production line," said Anthony Lea, Vice President of the International Copper Association. "Cooling systems have a lot to gain from the use of copper and brass. As SHAAZ leads the way, producing and marketing CuproBraze products in volume, a preponderance of evidence will accumulate in favor of copper and brass as superior materials for cooling systems."
    High-ranking company executives in attendance at the opening event included Jyrki Juusela, President of Outokumpu Oyj; Kalevi Nikkila, President of Outokumpu Copper Products Oyj; Staffan Anger, President of Outokumpu Copper Strip AB; and Anthony Lea, Vice-President of the International Copper Association. Government officials in attendance included members of the Russian Federation government; deputies of the State Duma; representatives of the governments of Finland and Sweden; and leaders of the local authorities. Also in attendance are top-level representatives from major vehicle producers in Russia such as KAMAZ, GAZ, URALAZ, UAZ and VAZ; as well as MAZ in Belarus.

    Note to Editor: Photos available upon request.

    About ICA

    The International Copper Association, Ltd. (ICA) is the leading organization for the promotion of the use of copper worldwide. The Association's 29 members represent about 80 percent of the world's refined copper output, and its six associate members are among the world's largest copper and copper alloy fabricators. ICA is responsible for guiding policy, strategy and funding of international initiatives and promotional activities. With headquarters in New York City, ICA operates in 28 worldwide locations through a network of regional offices and copper development associations. For more information, contact International Copper Association, Ltd., 260 Madison Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016-2401, Tel: +1(212) 251-7240, Fax: +1(212) 251-7245.

    About CuproBraze Technology and CACs

    The International Copper Association responded to the industry need for a new generation of copper-brass radiators by developing CuproBraze technology. CuproBraze technology also enables the manufacture of charge air coolers that can withstand higher temperatures than existing equipment, allowing the transportation industry to reduce emissions and increase fuel efficiency by replacing temperature-challenged aluminum charge air coolers (CACs) with copper-brass counterparts. In CAC applications, a hot pressurized charge of air passes through the tubes. The special design of the internal fins and high thermal conductivity of copper facilitate the transfer of heat to the tube walls and subsequently to the external fins. Charge air coolers conventionally have been made from aluminum; but new CuproBraze designs provide decided advantages with regard to cooling performance and durability, especially at elevated temperatures. For additional information about the CuproBraze process or ICA's CuproBraze consulting services, please contact the International Copper Association at Alea@copper.org.

    About SHAAZ

    Formerly known as "Shadrinsky Autoagregatny Zavod" or the "Shadrinsk Auto Aggregate Plant," this factory was founded as a branch of the Moscow Auto Plant on December 5, 1941. It became part of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC) in 1999. Shadrinsk is a small manufacturing town, whose population of 82,000 lives about 1,200 miles from Moscow. Situated just east of the Ural Mountains in Western Siberia, Shadrinsk is home to SHAAZ. For more information, contact: SHAAZ, 1, Sverdlov Street, Shadrinsk 641876, Kurgan Region, Russia. Tel: +7 (35253) 3-29-39, Tel/Fax: +7 (35253) 32-0-93, Internet: www.SHAAZ.ru, Email SHAAZm@SHAAZ.ru or post@SHAAZ.ru.