In 2005, Chelyabinskgorgaz JSC received its state registration certificates of ownership of 30 high-pressure gas pipelines, the company’s PR-department reported to UrBC representative. These pipelines passed into the company’s ownership mainly during its privatization in 1994. To receive the registration, specialists of Chelyabinskgorgaz had to complete the inventory of the pipelines that included drawing up the log and refinement of siting on the executive survey for every item in the pipeline network. Thus, the company presented a detailed plan of more than 100 kilometer of high-pressure

On February 3, 2006, Russian Heineken Group announced the upcoming production of new Patra Strong and Patra Draught Beer brands using Patra JSC brewery of Yekaterinburg. As the company’s spokesperson says, Patra Strong and Patra Draught Beer brands will hit the local and regional stores in mid-February. Both brands will come in 0.5-liter Long neck glass bottles and 1.5- and 2-liter polyethylene ones, and they are thought to add to the economy price segment. Patra beer proper is to acquire the new design as well. All of the company’s brands will now come in 0.5-liter Long neck glass bottles.

Chelyabinskiye Stroitenlno-Dorozhniye Macshini JSC, road building machines maker of Chelyabinsk, has decided to launch repetition work of a new V125 frontlift in the summer of 2006. Says the company’s Chief Designer Viktor Revin: ‘The launch of this frontlift will allow us to master the production of all the other varieties. We are currently making frontlifts with 2-, 3- and 4- cubic meter loader bucket capacity, yet the ones that sell best are the 1.5-cubic meter capacity models. There is a demand for them, so we decided to launch the V125 frontlift with 1.5-cubic meter bucket capacity.’

SPAS, the local fleet of taxis, became the official ground carrier for Koltsovo airport to Yekaterinburg trips in 2006. SPAS was given a tender after it had been chosen by Koltsovo airport among the other fleets of taxis operating in Yekaterinburg in the end of 2005. Starting February, a taxi trip from the airport to any destination within Yekaterinburg, at any time, will cost you 350 RUR (as opposed to last year’s 300 RUR). The passengers can either call the company beforehand or use the dispatcher service in the domestic or international flights arrivals halls upon landing. The company uses

‘The excise label equipment has finally been delivered, yet the computers and printers still have to be programmed by Atlas, a specialist company. The work is now in progress,’ Director of Tagilvodka JSC distribution subsidiary Evgeniy Kulaev said to UrBC representative. According to Mr Kulaev, the plant has also been idle due to the lack of the papers needed to get the excise labels. ‘The new labels do exist, but we haven’t been given them yet, and acquiring all the documents is time-consuming. Besides, the companies now have to pay 10% off each excise duty in advance. The duty excised on a

‘The airport representatives have rejected our application for performing Yekaterinburg to Moscow flights referring to the airport’s low carrying capacity. In similar cases, the carriers have the right to ask the Timetable Center based with Federal Air Transport Agency to investigate the carrying capacity of the airport. The investigation of Koltsovo airport has already been completed and its capacity has been found sufficient for Siberia Airlines to perform the flights. Thus, Koltsovo was recommended to comply. However, despite the federal findings and requests, the airport still refuses to

On February 1, 2006, former GD of OMZ-Kran Vitaliy Nedelskiy was appointed General Director of Uralskiy Turbinniy Zavod CJSC, turbine works of Yekaterinburg. Former GD Sergei Zyryanov was appointed Chair of the Board, as had been suggested by Renova Group, one of the shareholders. These new appointments are targeted at improving the quality of corporate business management and were caused by the growing need to make and track the strategic decisions within the Board of Directors. ‘During the crisis, the company’s top priority was mere survival, but we have overcome the hardships and have even

In the fall of 2005, Russia adopted the project aimed at setting up credit interchange bureaus – a very bright idea given the booming consumer loans and higher risks faced by the banks. The bureaus would make getting the loan for the law-abiding applicants easier and quicker, and crediting organizations would have fewer no-money-returns, the spokesperson for Uralfinprombank JSC said to UrBC representative. ‘Yet the banking history legislation hardly works in real life; Uralfinprombank JSC and many other banks have been supplying information about disloyal clients, which is regulated by the

Chelyabenergosbyt, supplier of Chelyabinsk, cut off electricity in the administration building and some pipelines of the local water supplier in regional Miass due to agreement violations. As the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative, the water supplier of Miass has not been paying the bills for a while and does not comply with the precious agreements concerning their debts. By February 1, 2006 the water supplier had come to owe Chelyabenergosbyt over 19 million RUR.

Mechel Bank JSC made more services available via plastic card. It is now possible to pay your mobile phone bills (if your operator is Megafon, MTS, Utel, Beeline, Corbina, Motiv, Yenisey Telecom), pay for the television subscription (for Cosmos TV, NTV+, Comcor, TV AKADO) or the Internet service (for MTU-Intel STREAM) and put money into your WEBMONEY and Yandex-money accounts using Mechel Bank plastic card. One can also check how much money one has in one’s account as well as to print out the account statement. There are nine Mechel ATMs available altogether.