In 2011, Rustavi Steel LLC was established to acquire the assets of the Rustavi Metallurgical Plant. Rustavi Metallurgical Plant, one of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

’s largest industrial enterprises, is situated 30 kilometres to the south of Georgia's capital

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

. The Rustavi Metallurgical Plant was founded in 1948 as the first fully integrated metallurgical complex in the South Caucasus and produced steel, hot-rolled seamless pipes and various products made of pig iron, aluminium or iron. The Plant produced seamless pipes to meet the requirements of the oil fields of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. Today, the Plant's new management and owners are embarking on a major program of investment and re-structuring to re-establish the company in regional markets, and expand into new global markets. The Plant is manufacturing reinforcing bars, seamless pipes, square billets, pig-iron castings, metal constructions, mechanical parts, shaped castings, granulated slag, silicon-manganese, lime and limestone. To strengthen its market position, management's first task is to increase the Plant's production capacity. A systematic modernization and re-equipment program is underway, new technologies are being introduced, training of young employees with the help of experienced professionals, has been given priority. The Plant currently exports to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and Middle Eastern markets as well as to

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Ownership

The Rustavi Metallurgical Plant was acquired by Georgian businessman

Badri Patarkatsishvili Arkady Shalvovich "Badri" Patarkatsishvili ( ka, ბადრი პატარკაციშვილი 31 October 1955 – 12 February 2008) was a Jewish-Georgian businessman who also became extensively involved in politics. He contested th ...

via auction in 2005 for $35.5m and was managed by

with the assistance of his employee and distant relative, Joseph Kay. Following Badri's death in February 2008, Kay attempted to misappropriate various assets that belonged to Badri's widow, Inna Gudavadze and her family, including the Rustavi Steel plant, using a falsified will. Under the government of

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.

, Kay was able to obtain a judgement at the Tbilisi court that prevented the Patarkatsishvili family from taking control of Badri's Georgian assets, including Rustavi. In December 2008, Inna Gudavadze launched an international arbitration claim against the Georgian Government, seeking the return of Rustavi and other assets including the TV station Imedi that had been seized by President Mikhail Saakashvili's government. In July 2011, the Patarkatsishvili family reached a settlement with the government that saw the return of Rustavi to the family. Rustavi was subsequently sold and is now managed by Hunnewell Partners.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Rustavi Steel website
Steel companies of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic Manufacturing companies of Georgia (country) Manufacturing companies established in 1948 1940s establishments in Georgia (country) 1948 establishments in the Soviet Union Rustavi Brands of Georgia (country)