Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) successfully went through an environmental management system audit aimed at checking the system’s compliance with the ISO 14001-2004 standards, the enterprise’s PR Department reports. For three days, a committee of experts from Germany-based TUV NORD, an international certifying body, headed by Chief Auditor Vladimir Tzvetichanin, examined MMK’s environmental management system. Seventeen production divisions, administrations, and departments were subject to audit, including the leading rolling shops, steel-smelting processing shops, and the energy

Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) came fourth in the annual rating of the Urals and Western Siberia’s leading exporters carried by the Expert-Ural magazine. The rating was compiled on the basis of the regional companies’ activity in 2010, so it only covers the enterprises whose production activity is mainly concentrated in the Greater Urals (Ural Federal District, Perm Territory, Orenburg Region, the Republic of Udmurtia, and Bashkortostan). This is why many major oil and gas concerns are not featured in the rating, as their business activity spreads far beyond the Urals and Siberia.

Sverdlovsk Region division of Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) in Oktyabrsky and Kirovsky districts of Yekaterinburg carried out scheduled and unscheduled inspections of ten enterprises dealing in maintenance and repair of vehicles in the eight months of 2011, the agency’s press service reports. The local customers complained about the following car mechanics: Firma ERES, UzDaewoo Service, Avtoland Shvetziya, Gamma, Nezavisimost Yekaterinburg F, STO Vostok, and some others. The legal entities and the executives behind the offenses had to face administrative liability and

Energomash (Yekaterinburg)-Uralelectrotyazhmash was placed on the list of companies that owe large sums of money to the Russian Federation budget. The list was compiled and published by Sverdlovsk Region division of Russia’s Federal Tax Service. The list comprises companies whose debt amounts to more than 1m RUR. The data are valid as of September 15, 2011.

The installation of filtering presses manufactured by the Italian company Diefenbach is now in progress at Kyshtym Copper Electrolysis Plant, Russian Copper Company’s press service reports. The new filtering equipment supplied by Diefenbach will replace the old filter presses at one of the copper electrolysis departments, which will ensure the maximum purification of the plant’s industrial wastewater. Kyshtym Copper Electrolysis Plant signed the delivery contract with Diefenbach in December 2010. The machinery is expected to be launched on September 30, 2011.

First Freight Company, the Commonwealth of Independent States’ largest railway carrier belonging to Russian Railways is losing its potential investors. According to Kommersant, the leading Russian railway operator Globaltrans backed out of an auction where a 75% shareholding of First Freight Company was open to bids. The auction is to take place on October 28, 2011. The opening bid has been set at 125.37bn RUR. Bidders can submit their applications until October 14, 2011, the newspaper notes. Now two of Globaltrans divisions actually asked the Federal Antimonopoly Service for a permission to

China’s national air carrier Air China might leave Yekaterinburg market. Starting October 1, 2011, the company will no longer operate any direct flights from Yekaterinburg to Beijing, Kommersant reports. The news of Air China giving up on direct Yekaterinburg-Beijing flights was announced to the newspaper by a number of travel agents. ‘The thing is, the carrier will stop offering Beijing flights on October 1, 2011, and this situation will hold until next March at least; however, no news of the flights being canceled for goods has been announced so far. It is not quite clear at the moment what