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Igor Korytko: digitalization is a prerequisite for the successful growth of an industrial company

TMK will continue to focus on digital transformation, which is essential to drive industrial development, said TMK CEO Igor Korytko at the 5th International SAP Conference for Mining and Metals.  TMK was a co-organizer of the event, which was held online on September 15.

At the plenary session of the Conference, Igor Korytko said that today’s industrial companies cannot build their operations without digital solutions.

“To improve our production capacity management, effectively redistribute loads, and build out supply and cooperation chains, we need digital tools as this is almost impossible to do manually. This is why we have adopted a vast array of digital solutions; one of them, SAP Integrated Planning System (IBP), was piloted recently,” said Igor Korytko.

He noted that digital solutions also help improve product quality. TMK addresses this challenge through its Digital Production program, implementing systems which collect information about all production process stages and product quality across each of them to enable process adjustments and further product improvements through big data analytics. Another important aspect is building digital relations with customers, with TMK using IT tools to offer clients an opportunity to monitor the production and shipment processes and facilitating electronic document management.

Environmental stewardship is another key element of industrial development. TMK considers environmental impact both when upgrading production and bringing new products to the market.

“We offer tubular solutions that help our customers move forward in this area. For hydrocarbon production companies, we supply products such as lubricant-free, more environmentally friendly pipe connections and vacuum insulated tubing that prevents permafrost thawing. TMK is developing a whole range of tubular solutions for the nuclear power industry and also focuses on the emerging hydrogen industry, which will gain an increasingly greater share of the energy mix.  Today, the Company already offers a range of tubular solutions for hydrogen production, transportation, storage and use,” said Igor Korytko.

Answering the question about future drivers of the industry, he noted that “priorities will include flexible management, operational planning, automation, focus on advanced technologies, and employee upskilling.” At the same time, he said these trends were relevant not only to steelmakers but also to other industries.

During the Conference, TMK’s management also gave more color on the Company’s experience in implementing a production and sales planning system with a planning horizon of up to 18 months, demonstrated together with colleagues the outcomes of implementing a blockchain register of quality certificates for metal products, discussed the benefits of flexible carbon management, and shared insights from its experience of using digital solutions for information processing at TMK-Sinara Business Service Center.

The online forum’s participants and guests took a virtual tour of TMK’s Seversky Pipe Plant to learn the history of steelmaking in the plant’s host city of Polevskoy, the Sverdlovsk Region, and find out more about the plant’s pipe production technology, production and environmental management facilities, and social initiatives.