Prime Minister of Georgia Vano Merabishvili continues inspection of industrial facilities in Rustavi. After visit to "Azot", "Carriage building company", Metal-Construction factory and "Heidelberg Cement" factory, Prime Minister visited Rustavi-based metallurgical company "Rusmetal", "Rustavi metallurgical plant" and "Geosteel."
During the talking with the management of "Rusmetal," Vano Merabishvili focused on the value of building a new port "Lasika". According to the statement of Prime Minister, the port will be the first port in Georgia to receive and unload large tonnage container carriers. Instead of vessels with capacity of 200-300 containers, the port could receive ships that will be able to transport 3000-5000 containers, which will significantly reduce transportation costs and the time spent. As a result, the cost of raw materials for companies involved in industry sector will be significantly reduced.
The company "Rusmetal" was founded in 2005. The enterprise started construction of factory in the city of Rustavi, which came into operation in 2005 and now employs 300 people. In the manufacturing process it mainly uses local ore and mines manganese in Terjola Region, where it owns three mines and three processing plants. Production of "Rusmetall" is exported to Turkey, Ukraine, United States and various European countries.
After "Rusmetal", Prime Minister paid a visit to "Rustavi Metallurgical Plant" and had a discussion with the employees of the plant. Plant representatives familiarized Prime Minister with production process and plans for plant expansion, which came into operation in 2005 resulting in the increase of plant capacity from 6,000 tons to 10,000 tons. Approximately 80% of Rustavi metallurgical plant output is exported to over 20 countries worldwide.
Later, Prime Minister visited another metallurgical plant "Geosteel." Company representatives familiarized Vano Merabishvili with production techniques of steel end products. LLC "Geosteel" is the largest steel producer in Georgia and employs approximately 600 people. The industrial infrastructure of the plant is located on 13 hectares and its production capacity is 200 000 tons of steel per year. In 2011 the plant exported 62 thousand tons of steel. Apart from Georgia, consumers of its production are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Sri Lanka.
