MECHEL ANNOUNCES THE RESULTS FROM ITS MECHEL SERVICE OOO SUBSIDIARY’S SALES
NETWORK DEVELOPMENT IN 2008
Moscow, Russia – January 15, 2009 – Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading
Russian mining and metals companies, announces the results of implementing its
plan to develop the branch network of its Mechel Service OOO service and sales
subsidiary.
In 2008, as part of Mechel Service’s regional sales network expansion, offices
were opened in Belgorod, Ulyanovsk, Astrakhan, Irkutsk, Kaliningrad, Stavropol,
Mineralnye Vody, Anapa, Naberezhnye Chelny, and Vidnoye (Moscow Region). In
connection with the expansion of Mechel Service OOO’s production facilities, it
has transformed its units in Tyumen, Omsk, Krasnodar, Sochi, and Nizhny Novgorod
into its branches. Mechel Service OOO has also opened additional warehouses in
Rostov-on-Don, Samara, and Krasnoyarsk.
Mechel Service’s sales network currently includes over 50 offices in 40 major
Russian cities. Mechel Service’s subsidiaries also currently operate in Romania
and Kazakhstan. In September 2008, in line with the implementation of expanding
its sales network, enhancing and extending range of its services, and enlarging
its client base, Mechel Service acquired HBL Holding, a German group of steel
trading and distribution companies. The acquisition has strengthened Mechel
Service’s position in the European Union and allowed it to increase its number
of sales units to 65.
Along with expanding its sales geographically, Mechel Service, as part of its
development program, implemented numerous projects in organizing its production
and service sites in 2008. Equipment for straightening and cutting-off
reinforcing bars according to custom tailored sizes was launched in
Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi, Chelyabinsk, and
Tyumen. Installation of a new automatic line for welded mesh production, in the
Moscow Region, with 1,200-1,500 tone monthly capacity was initiated. This new
service started their operations at Samara and Novosibirsk. These innovations
allowed Mechel Service OOO to substantially expand the range of its marketable
products and services provided to end customers.
In 2009, Mechel Service plans to continue its sales expansion program,
development of its branch network and new production and service facilities.
Furthermore, the company is currently considering expansion of its sales network
in Kazakhstan and developing a program to expand its operations to the Russian
Far East, CIS, and far-abroad countries. In addition, as part of establishing
its own production and warehouse base, Mechel Service expects to complete the
upgrades of its warehouse complexes in the Moscow Region, Yekaterinburg, Ufa,
and Anapa.
“The development of Mechel Service’s branch network in 2008 enabled Mechel to
substantially enlarge its client base and ensure steady sales of our finished
metal products even while the industry experienced a strong decline of demand in
Russia and abroad,” Mechel OAO Senior Vice President Vladimir Polin commented.

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Mechel OAO
Ilya Zhitomirsky
Phone: + 7 495 221 88 88
ilya.zhitomirsky@mechel.com
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Mechel is one of the leading Russian companies. Its business includes four
segments: mining, steel, ferroalloy and power. Mechel unites producers of coal,
iron ore concentrate, steel, rolled products, ferroalloys, hardware, heat and
electric power. Mechel products are marketed domestically and internationally.
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Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other
forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial
performance of Mechel, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that
these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may
differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements. We refer you to
the documents Mechel files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, including our Form 20-F. These documents contain and
identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned
“Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in our
Form 20-F, that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those
contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among
others, the achievement of anticipated levels of profitability, growth, cost and
synergy of our recent acquisitions, the impact of competitive pricing, the
ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals and licenses, the impact of
developments in the Russian economic, political and legal environment,
volatility in stock markets or in the price of our shares or ADRs, financial
risk management and the impact of general business and global economic
conditions.