'Machine-building and equipment-making appear to do best in terms of production growth, as their output went up by 60.8% in January-May 2007 compared to a year earlier; chemical production growth reached 20.1%, that of timber industry came to 24.8%, that of metallurgical production went up by 11.3%,’ First Deputy Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Vladimir Molchanov said to UrBC.

'Metallurgical produce comes to about 50% of the gross regional product; I tend to think things will gradually be changing, yet metallurgy has been our core industry for three hundred years, which means our technology and the quality of our equipment are one of the best in the world. This is why this branch is going to remain the region’s major breadwinner as well as a good base for machine-building and metal processing,’ Mr. Molchanov noted.