Evraz NA refutes report it falsified tests on plate for US military

Evraz NA has denied the claims.

Citing an internal report and company officials, Bloomberg said employees at the Portland plant skipped mandatory hardness tests and inputted fake results on an estimated 12,800 armor plates of various types. Those plates were labeled as tested and approved, though some later showed signs of cracking in the US Army’s joint light tactical vehicles (JLTVs).

Oshkosh Defense, a primary buyer of the armor plates, has provided the US military and allied foreign governments with over 22,000 JLTVs since 2015.

Bloomberg reported that an Evraz official identified the untested plates as part of the JLTV program and in medium tactical vehicles, also produced by Oshkosh. After management was alerted to potential problems on the production line, Evraz halted deliveries of armored plate for the JLTV program.

It is unclear if any vehicles were outfitted with the plates or, if so, those vehicles were deployed.

Evraz says operations continue

A spokesperson for Evraz told Steel Market Update the Bloomberg article “inaccurately characterizes an internal company report and does not provide evidence that Evraz North America or its employees sold defective plate that was used by any customers.”

“In reality, the internal report examines quality control protocols and underscores Evraz North America’s commitment to producing high-quality, reliable plate,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.

Evraz NA said it has cooperated with all requests made by the Department of Justice about the matter referenced in the article.

“Our operations and production schedule have not been affected, and we continue to operate our business as usual. We are confident the DOJ’s investigation will end in a full exoneration,” the spokesperson said.

Divestment process

In 2022, Evraz’s Russian parent company said it would sell off its North American assets.

Those operations include a plate mill and spiral-weld pipe mill in Portland; a rail, rod and seamless pipe mill in Pueblo, Colo.; and extensive oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and line pipe operations in western Canada. The company is also the largest scrap recycler in Western Canada.

The “sale is still in process,” the Evraz NA spokesperson said on Wednesday without providing further details.