Alexander Abramov and EVRAZ

In 1992, a group of Russian scientists and engineers established EvrazMetall, a company specializing in trading steel products and supplying raw materials and equipment to Russian steel mills.

One of those scientists was Alexander Abramov, who was then just 33 years old. The Krasnodar-born Abramov was a graduate of the prestigious Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and had spent the last decade heading the lab at the Joint Institute for High Temperatures.

Abramov Leads an Acquisition Spree for EVRAZ

From 2001 and onwards, Abramov and his partners acquired a number of properties which would form the foundation of EVRAZ’s immense wealth and global reach.

In 2001 they acquired the Nizhny Tagil Iron and Steel Plan and the West Siberian Iron and Steel Plant.

A year later, they acquired the Vysokogorsky Ore Mining and Processing Plant, and in 2003, it was the turn of the Novokuznetsk Iron and Steel Plan and the Nahhodka Commercial Sea Port to join the EVRAZ family.

In 2004 and 2005, EVRAZ acquired the Kachkanarsky Ore Mining and Processing Plant, the Evrazruda Iron Ore Processing Complex and Palini and Bertoli in Italy.

EVRAZ Goes Public

In 2005, Abramov led EVRAZ to a public listing, when the group’s global depositary receipts began trading on the London Stock Exchange.

This was a pivotal point in EVRAZ’s history, raising more than $400 million for the company and placing it firmly on the map as a global steel powerhouse.

In 2006, EVRAZ acquired a 73% stake in the US-based Strategic Minerals Corporate, one of the leading producers of vanadium alloys and chemicals for the steel, chemical and titanium industries.

A year later, the company turned its attention to coal by purchasing one of the largest coking coal producers in Russia, Yuzhkuzbassugol.  In the same year, the group acquired Oregon Steel Mills in the US, as well as a stake in the Czech ferrovanadium producer, Nikom.

Abramov also led the acquisition of a number of assets in South Africa and Ukraine.

2006 was also another turning point for EVRAZ, when the company sold a 41% stake to billionaire and owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich.  Abramov and his partners collected another $3 billion through that sale, making them extremely rich.

With the proceeds of the sale in the EVRAZ stake, Abramov invested in other industries such as gold, forestry and mobile internet companies.

In 2008, he returned as the chairman of the board of EVRAZ and under his leadership, the company continued to add important acquisitions to its portfolio.

In 2009, EVRAZ acquired one of Russia’s largest steel distribution networks, Carbofer Metall. A year later, it won a tender to develop the Mezhegey coal deposit in the Russian republic of Tyva.

In 2011, EVRAZ achieved premium listing on the LSE and became a constituent of the FTSE index.

Today, EVRAZ employs tens of thousands of people from around the world. Much of its success is thanks to the foresight and vision of Alexander Abramov.