俄罗斯钢铁大亨莫尔达索夫积极投资美国
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过去八年，莫尔达索夫已投入14亿美元对Rouge老厂进行翻新，工厂现名为谢韦尔钢铁迪尔伯恩工厂（Severstal Dearborn）。“绿色科技是未来，”他说，“该厂正在为节能汽车制造钢铁。” 谢韦尔钢铁是制造超高强度轻质钢材的先行者，这类钢材通过降低汽车自重提高单位油耗行驶里程，但同时满足最严格的碰撞标准。这项计划是如此吸引人，以至于美国能源部（Department of Energy）都初步批准了为迪尔伯恩工厂高端钢材扩产提供7.40亿美元贷款，但让莫尔达索夫大感意外的是今年1月份美国能源部取消了这一贷款许诺。 “我们正在寻找扩产所需资金，希望填上美国能源部留下的缺口。”莫尔达索夫说，“我们的迪尔伯恩工厂早已开始生产轻质钢材，但要满足未来为达到燃油标准、美国所需的产能还远远不够。” 鉴于莫尔达索夫在美国投资钢铁行业遭受的巨额损失，他对于钢铁行业以及美国的前景依然如此乐观，实在是难能可贵。2008年初当市场处于巅峰时，谢韦尔钢铁出资26亿美元在俄亥俄州、西弗吉尼亚州和马里兰州购买了3家钢铁厂。当经济衰退重击钢铁销量和价格时，莫尔达索夫大幅削减产量，并将3家钢铁厂挂牌出售。2011年3月，他将这三家厂卖给了采矿业富豪、以长岛大宅著称的艾拉•伦内特控制的公司，售价仅8,000万美元，三年内损失超过25亿美元。 莫尔达索夫决定集中投资两家钢铁厂：受益于汽车行业复苏的迪尔伯恩工厂，和谢韦尔钢铁投资15亿美元、在密西西比州哥伦布新建的工厂。莫尔达索夫说，密西西比新厂将成为美国南部汽车制造企业的领先供应商。 莫尔达索夫认为，最最糟糕的是很多人对美国的未来仍过于悲观。“近来我们已经看到美国经济有显著改观，但这一点没有被很好地认识。”他说，“美国在提高生产率方面做得很好。迪尔伯恩工厂正在用更少的员工制造更多钢铁。工会接受了优化的工作条例。产业复苏正在发生，但人们对此认识不足。” 他还指出了第二项重大改观是能源成本显著下降。“这是由于页岩气革命。我知道有位俄罗斯企业家打算在美国南部建一家化肥厂，因为那里的能源成本如此低廉。”谢韦尔钢铁部分持股的一家工业园区正在吸引密西西比州当地的钢铁加工公司入驻，这是当前全美情形的一个缩影。 在莫尔达索夫同我轻轻握手道别时，他说，“美国最需要保留的就是企业家精神。这为创造就业提供了原动力。这创造了美国人重要的生命品质。” 阿列克谢•莫尔达索夫相信，建立在伟大制造业之上的这个帝国将迎来一片新天地。 译者：早稻米 |
In the past eight years, Mordashov has poured $1.4 billion into refurbishing the former Rouge plant, now called Severstal Dearborn. "The future is in green energy," he says, "it's in making steel for energy-efficient cars." Severstal is a pioneer in producing extra-strong but lightweight steel that improves gas mileage by reducing the vehicles' weight, but also meets the most stringent crash standards. Its initiative so impressed the Department of Energy that it gave preliminary approval for a $740 million loan to expand Dearborn's advanced steel output, but to Mordashov's shock, canceled the commitment in January. "We're now looking for financing we didn't get from the DOE to expand production," says Mordashov. "We're already making the lightweight steel at Dearborn, but the U.S. will need far more production in the future to meet fuel standards." Given his big losses in the U.S., it's remarkable that Mordashov remains so optimistic about the future of steel -- and America. At the top of the market in early 2008, Severstal paid $2.6 billion for plants in Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland. When the recession pounded both volumes and prices, Mordashov slashed production and put the mills up for sale. In March of 2011, he sold all three to companies controlled by mining magnate Ira Rennert, renowned for his gigantic "house that ate the Hamptons" on Long Island. The price: just $80 million, leaving a loss of over $2.5 billion in just three years. Mordashov decided to concentrate Severstal's dollars on two mills, the Dearborn facility because it benefits from the resurgence of the auto industry, and a new, $1.5 billion mill that Severstal recently opened in Columbus, Mississippi. The Mississippi plant, says Mordashov, will also become a leading supplier to automakers in the southern U.S. Most of all, Mordashov reckons that many people are far too glum about America's future. "We've seen a significant change in the U.S. economy recently, and it's not well understood," he says. "The U.S. has done a great job improving productivity. We're making a lot more steel in Dearborn with fewer people. The unions have accepted much better work rules. An industrial renaissance is happening, and it's underestimated." He also notes a second big improvement, a major reduction in energy costs. "It's because of the shale gas revolution. I know a Russian entrepreneur who wants to build a fertilizer plant in the southern U.S. because energy costs are so low." An industrial park, part-owned by Severstal, is attracting local steel fabrication companies in Mississippi, epitomizing what's happening all over America. As Mordashov gives me a parting, buzz-saw handshake, he says, "What you need to keep most in the U.S. is the entrepreneurial spirit. It provides the impetus for job creation. It has created a great quality of life for Americans." Alexey Mordashov is convinced that an empire built on great manufacturing is poised to strike again. |
