How a Belarusian metallurgical plant became the steel backbone of the country

Topic news The Belarusian Metallurgical Plant is called the steel core of the country. And it’s not just that millions of tons of this malleable and corrosion-resistant material are melted here. In the era of sanctions, BMZ proved: difficult times do not break steel - they harden it. We are talking about the people through whose efforts the legendary enterprise quickly adapted to new conditions.
The main value of BMZ
For several years now, OJSC "BMZ - the management company of the BMK holding" has been working in extremely difficult conditions: due to sanctions, including personal ones, it can neither EXPORT its products to the EU nor use the transit corridor available there. the enterprise continued to operate successfully, the management had to make a number of operational and strategic decisions, including reconsidering the sales markets. Thus, new friendly countries appeared on the export map of the Belarusian Metallurgical Plant - for example , CHINA , supplies to the African continent increased
- There are certain difficulties with logistics. , carrying out calculations, but already in the first quarter of 2024 we have secured certain supplies of metal products. The minimum figure for this year, which we are looking at, is 200 thousand tons of steel. They know our products and are interested in them,” noted General DIRECTOR Dmitry Korchik.

What is also important here is the fact that there are orders for all production and nothing is stuck in warehouses.

- The economics of the enterprise are positive. We are improving production efficiency in order to fulfill all our social obligations,” explains the general director. And it is not just words. BMZ is a socially oriented enterprise. Employees here are rightly called the main value. Yes, the plant is equipped with the most modern equipment and is actively developing technologies, but in the end, behind the high results, first of all, there is the hard work of people: some make the right strategic decisions, others implement them conscientiously. That is why the attitude towards the staff is special. In a situation where a workshop is forced to operate at less than full capacity, employees are offered retraining here at the plant. And many people actively take advantage of this opportunity. Thus, at the end of 2023, more than 500 employees of steel wire shops changed their field of activity, retaining their jobs and high salaries by Belarusian standards.

Teamwork not only brings economic success, but also helps maintain comfortable working conditions. Factory workers actively participate in the life of the enterprise, voicing their proposals at regular meetings of the enterprise management with workshop teams. This is another effective measure of social support.
The most comfortable working conditions are created at BMZ with the help of a collective agreement. Last year alone, 41 changes and additions were made to it. Among the company's innovations are additional payments of 5 basic units to the labor leave for union members and the opportunity to go on maternity leave not in the seventh, but in the second month of pregnancy, while maintaining the average salary. On the eve of Knowledge Day, 488 large families of plant workers received financial assistance in the amount of 140,082 rubles. (for 1262 children). On the eve of Mother's Day, all employees of the enterprise with many children were also provided with financial assistance. One-time assistance in the amount of 16,300 rubles was also paid to factory workers raising disabled children on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. In February, an annual payment is provided for internationalist soldiers working at the BMZ.

They also do not forget about those whose hands, throughout the 40 years of the enterprise’s existence, created a solid foundation for its current success. Every month, more than 3 thousand BMZ veterans receive additional payments from their native plant, and in October, for the International Day of Older Persons, they also receive financial assistance. BMZ spends tens of millions of rubles every year on social payments!
HEALTH and labor will trump everything.
Another area is labor protection. Over the past three years, more than 16 million rubles have been invested in this area. Workers are always provided with personal protective equipment, receive decent medical care, and those working with hazardous substances receive free MILK . But what’s even more important is that we managed to reduce the number of accidents with serious consequences by three times. The company also has its own medical and sanitary unit. It is equipped at the BMZ in such a way that any other medical center would envy. Here you can undergo a course of physiotherapy, rehabilitation after injuries or diseases of the musculoskeletal system, screening for cardiovascular pathology and x-rays, audiometry. If necessary, even minor operations can be performed in the factory medical unit using electrosurgical high-frequency devices. And from April 2024 , factory workers will also have access to an Italian-made intraoral dental unit with a Zen-X radiographic digital image processing system. There are few of these in our country, but in the Gomel region it is the only one! Its advantage is that when obtaining an image, the radiation exposure to a person is two times lower than during a conventional dental examination. Plus, there is a high-quality image and quick transfer of the X-ray image to dentists. And most importantly, factory workers do not have to go to the city to get an X-ray of their teeth. Everything is in place. The future is in good hands.
Everyone in the city knows that BMZ has one of the best social packages in the country. This is also why young people willingly come to work here. This year, for example, BMZ is preparing to accept about 150 young specialists, and in the past more than a hundred of them came here.
- We provide all young specialists who need housing with dorm rooms from the factory stock. We try to maintain comfortable conditions there. If necessary, we will organize repair work. Last year, windows were replaced, roofs and panel seams were repaired in three houses. We installed two new elevators in one building and repaired the heating system in another. Now we continue to replace passenger elevators where necessary,” says Andrei Kulakovsky, Deputy General Director for Social Policy Implementation and Ideological Work.
Young specialist Anastasia Sidorova has already appreciated the cohesion of the team, the sensitivity of management and the care for each employee at the legendary enterprise during her internship. He assures that he has no plans to leave here - he’s more than happy with everything. And friends from college, who came to work and at first planned to immediately get a job at another enterprise after it, or even change their profession, ultimately decided to stay at BMZ.
- Why? Because all conditions have been created for young specialists at the plant. I personally really enjoy working here! - Anastasia assures.
BMZ actively invests in the so-called “green metallurgy” - one of the main directions of development of modern ferrous metallurgy. Thus, in 2024, the implementation of the project “Comprehensive reconstruction of PGU-3” will continue, after which they will begin to implement the identical project “Reconstruction of PGU-2”. The implementation of these projects will reduce emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere, thereby reducing the environmental load on the environment.

For this year, the company sets itself ambitious, but also difficult goals: to increase supply volumes in the domestic and foreign markets, provide domestic enterprises with import-substituting products and significantly increase external shipments of metallurgical products. Already implemented solutions will help with this - both technical and technological.

Last year, the Belarusian Metallurgical Plant began producing 135 types of innovative products. Such products are in great demand among customers: their share in the total volume exceeds 40%.
Elena IVASHKO, photo - provided by the company