June 17, 2013. Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK) took part in the All-Russian Zero Environmental Impact event that was coordinated by the Natural Resources Ministry as part of the Year of Environmental Protection in Russia and on the eve of the World Environmental Protection Day, TMK press service reports. The event was targeted at demonstrating the business’s environmentally responsible status to the public: all of the company’s Russian assets coordinated special activities that could support careful use of natural resources and provided some practical contribution on the pipe manufacturers’

June 17, 2013. Ural Airlines recently added a new Airbus 319 plane to its fleet of vehicles: this is the company’s first such make, in fact. This means that the air carrier currently operates the entire family of Airbus 320 planes. The new liner arrived in Yekaterinburg from North America; it is fit for 134 passengers (there are 136 economy class seats and 8 business class ones). The aircraft will be used for both international and domestic flights, the airline’s press officer reports. Ural Airlines launched its fleet upgrade program in 2006, and so the company adds some new aircraft to its

June 17, 2013. A two-tier railway and motorway bridge across Verkh-Isetsky Pond will be built in Yekaterinburg in case the city wins the right to host the international exhibition EXPO 2020. The structure will provide a link between the city center and the exhibition site, the official city portal states. The bridge that will house the air express rails as well as other means of public transport is to become one of the city’s key transport links. In fact, special attention will be paid to the all-round modernization of Yekaterinburg transportation system in the course of preparing for the

June 17, 2013. An international seminar/meeting of trade union heads from pipe manufacturing enterprises based in Russia, Ukraine, and Byelorussia took place on the premises of Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (a member of ChTPZ Group). The meeting was coordinated by the International Trade Union Association Proftsentr Soyuzmetall, the company’s press service reports. The meeting was aimed at sharing experience on cooperation inside the trade union divisions. The meeting participants talked about motivating and attracting new members and about improving their image and significance in the

June 17, 2013. More than 660bn RUR will be allocated to coordinate and host the world football championship of 2018 in Yekaterinburg; 336bn RUR out of this sum will be directed from the federal budget, Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev said at a government meeting. He stressed that this money should be spent ‘in the most efficient and transparent way possible’, Finmarket refers to the official as saying. 32 national football teams and about 1m supporters are expected to arrive at the event. Medvedev pointed out that in terms of the number of visitors, the World Cup will be ‘a much larger

June 14, 2013. Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ-Uraltrac) is now sending a set of spare parts to Portugal, where four of their pipe-laying vehicles are being used at the moment. The Portuguese customers bought ChTZ’s first TP-20 as early as 2008. Having used the machine and been convinced of its reliability, the customers bought three more pipe-layers later, Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation’s press service reports. The customer company deals in construction and repair of various types of pipelines. Even though the ChTZ vehicles are being used non-stop, they have never let

June 14, 2013. Experts from Sinara Transport Machines Innovational Development Center (CIR STM, a member enterprise of Sinara Transport Machines) conducted another series of tests on the SinaraHybrid locomotive with the hybrid unit TEM9N using VNIIZhT experimental route, Sinara Group’s PR Center reports. During the tests, the loco reached the maximum capacity that was set out in Russian Railways’ design specifications in 2011: the loco moved at 100 kmh and carried the load that fit with the design specifications limits. Testing the pilot TEM9N-001 sample started at Lyudinovsky Locomotive

June 14, 2013. Yekaterinburg keeps struggling for the right to host the World Universal Exhbition EXPO 2020; its application presents a very clear-cut plan on the use of the exhibition area and infrastructure after the event, the city council’s press service reports. Issues relating to the cultural heritage of the exhibition are given the top priority in Yekaterinburg’s application. After the exhibition is over, the housing fund (about 2.5m sq m) will be handed over to the local residents and will create a new, comfortable residential district in VIZ. Most of the large-scale buildings on the

June 14, 2013. Following Sverdlovsk Region Culture Minister Pavel Krekov to Kyrgyzstan, an agreement was reached on holding cultural exchange days: Kyrgyzstan Days in Sverdlovsk Region in 2014 and Sverdlovsk Region Days in Kyrgyzstan in 2015, the region’s government’s press service reports. The agreement was reached in the course of Pavel Krekov’s meeting with the Kyrgyz Minister for Culture, Information, & Tourism Sultan Rayev; the two parties agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding there. The ministers also talked about a number of common problems and cultural development

June 14, 2013. Russian Vice Premier Dmitri Rogozin chaired a meeting of RAE 2013 national coordination committee that was dedicated to the key issues relating to preparation for and coordination of the exhibition in Nizhniy Tagil. According to Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service, the holding, as the exhibition’s general coordinator, Business Dialogue, and NTIIM presented a concept of the event’s business agenda, a consistent visuals design of the area and the stands, and a general scenario of the show. ‘If we aim to achieve serious, ambitious goals, that is, to compete on equal terms

June 13, 2013. The 9th International Weapons, Military Vehicles, and Ammunitions Exhibition Russia Arms EXPO 2013 (RAE 2013) is both getting a new image and changing the concept of working with the social networks, Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service reports. The changes in the visuals of the exhibition reflect the gargantuan amount of work done by the exhibition coordinators and organizers in terms of content and business agenda. RAE 2013 new logo is meant to put an emphasis on the innovational component and the international scale of the project organization. ‘Our wish to make RAE

June 13, 2013. The Russian Federation Accounts Chamber is going to look into the efficiency of spending budget funds on the design and construction of sports facilities that will be necessary for the World Cup 2018, the Chamber’s website states. The inspections will take place in June-September 2013. Subject to checks are the Russian Federation Sports Ministry, the Governments of Mordovia, Volgograd Region, Sverdlovsk Region, Samara Region, Kaliningrad Region, Rostov Region, Nizhniy Novgorod Region, Moscow-based State Expertise Main Administration, Moscow-based Sport-Engineering Federal State

June 13, 2013. Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District Igor Kholmanskikh introduced the new Director-General of Development Corporation Sergey Maslov to the heads of Ural Federal District’s federal constituencies during his business trip to Khanty-Mansiysk. ‘Development Corporation has already acquired a reputation as an effective organization for implementing infrastructure projects in Ural Federal District. Over the last few years, a heat and power station was launched in Harp, a number of new, more energy-efficient boiler houses were built in

June 13, 2013. A big meeting on issues relating to the quality of goods the company makes was held at Ural Locomotives (a joint venture run by Sinara Group and Siemens AG based in Verkhnyaya Pyshma, Sverdlovsk Region). Vice President of Russian Railways and Director of the Traction Department Alexei Vorotilkin, some representatives of the Technical Audit Center and Russian Railways’ departments and local divisions, and industrial scientists and suppliers attended the event. The Quality Day was mainly targeted at organizing the multi-faceted co-performance of the manufacturing plant with the

June 13, 2013. The world’s best-known futurologists and pioneers in their fields – scientists, business gurus, and experts on technology and innovation – are coming to Yekaterinburg on July 11 to take part in the second forecasting session within the framework of Innoprom International Industrial Exhbition (July 11-14, 2013). This year, the foreign visitors will share their vision of the future developments in Technological Breakthroughs: Where and When? Just like a year earlier, the forecasting session will be moderated by journalist and writer, TEFI laureate and the Book of the Year nominee

June 11, 2013. Nine employees of Uralvagonzavod, the head plant of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation, and three representatives of Ural Transport Machine-Building Design Office (a corporation member enterprise as well) were given the Russian Federation’s supreme state awards. The awards for their outstanding work achievements were given out by Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District Igor Kholmanskikh in the course of a solemn ceremony in his official residence in Yekaterinburg, Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service

June 11, 2013. The agenda of the forum and the concept of Sverdlovsk Region stand are almost ready for the 4th Ural International Industry & Innovations Forum & Exhibition Innoprom 2013 that will be held in Yekaterinburg on July 11-14. All of Sverdlovsk Region ministries, departments, and municipalities are taking part in drawing up the agenda, Sverdlovsk Region Government’s Press Service & Information Administration reports. According to Formica Group Marketing Director Anton Atrashkin, ‘the business agenda of the exhibition is 90% complete’. Russian Prime Minister Dmitri

June 11, 2013. Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (PNTZ, a member of ChTPZ Group) completed a scheduled overhaul of its pipe and tube mill 30-102 at one of its primary departments, ChTPZ press service reports. Under the current upgrades program, 107 tons of obsolete equipment that was launched as early as in the 90s were finally dismantled and replaced with new machines. These changes involved the entire technological pipe production chain, including the main mechanical and electric machines, barrel-type furnaces, mechanical appliances, the grease and liquid lubricating systems, pipe conduits, and

June 11, 2013. VUZ-Bank’s capital came to more than 2bn RUR: the figure came to 2,016,637,000 RUR on June 1, 2013, which was 10%, or 179m RUR more than at the beginning of the year, the bank’s press service reports. The bank’s own funds increased due to growing profits. As of June 1, 2013, VUZ-Bank’s net profit exceeded 200m RUR since the beginning of the year. This positive dynamic was due the improved performance indicators: lending volumes and a growing share of the commission-based services (money orders, cashless payments, e-, and m-banking for both private individuals and corporates).

June 11, 2013. An inspection by Sverdlovsk Region public prosecution authorities ended up with the institution of criminal proceedings, with charges based on Article 180 (part 1) of the Russian Federation Criminal Code (trademark abuse resulting in large-scale damage). The spokesperson for the authorities explains that in May 2013, a clandestine shoe-making enterprise was discovered in the village of Atig, Nizhneserginsky District. The workshop produced fake Chanel shoes and employed over 100 Central Asia natives. The police officers confiscated about 3,600 pairs of shoes then. The