UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 20, 2016. Sverdlovsk Region’s coal stock amounted to 1,351,100,000 kg on October 1, 2016; this was 27.1% less than one year earlier, Sverdlovskstat reports. Furnace oil supplies stood at 193,100,000 kg on October 1, down 2.9% on last October. Based on the daily spending figures for September 2016, the current coal and furnace oil stock is expected to last for thirty-six and 848 days, respectively. The electric power, natural gas, and water producers and suppliers in the area now have 544,000,000 kg less coal (-36.9%) and 400,000 kg more furnace oil (+0.3%) than

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Region, October 19, 2016. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) keeps cutting down on energy spending by taking a set of different measures: encouraging improvement proposals, investing in low-budget, quick-payoff projects, and outsourcing power facilities maintenance. ‘MMK considered 251 improvement proposals on energy saving in the first eight months of 2016. This has saved the company 1,1321bn RUR. Also, a special electronic Power Management Platform was launched this year in order to make processing of innovative proposals more efficient. Some business

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 19, 2016. Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation’s head plant recently hosted a round table discussion on their inventors and innovators’ performance. The discussion was held on the eve of Inventor’s Day and was part of celebrating the plant’s special year: Ural Vagon Zavod was founded eighty years ago this month. According to the corporation’s press service, the foresight discussion and the conference participants’ reports were all dedicated to how an employee and their company can work together to enhance their intellectual potential. Some ten Ural Federal District-based

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 19, 2016. A smartphone purchased at MegaFon’s outlets throughout Russia cost more than 10,000 RUR on average in the nine months of 2016, the telecommunications provider’s press service reports. According to J’son & Partners Consulting, 7% of all the sold smartphones cost over 30,000 RUR, whereas two years earlier, their share was only 1%. ‘Smartphones are still the most popular item customers shop for at our outlets. This year, the more expensive 4G devices grew twice as popular as last year. Customers are also interested in LTE Advanced smartphones and often

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 19, 2016. 70% of all apartments home owners buy in Yekaterinburg’s Akademichesky District are purchased on a mortgage, RSG-Akademicheskoye’s Director-General Viktor Kisselev said at a press conference. ‘This year, 70% of all our purchasing transactions are mortgages. Our customers are mostly young people who cannot afford to pay in ready cash. February was our peak month, when the share of mortgage deals reached as much as 80%. It was not clear at the time whether the government would keep up with its interest-rate subsidies program. In fact, the subsidies are

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 19, 2016. Rosatom’s Ural Electrochemical Works (UEKhK) in Novouralsk is the first among Rosatom TVEL’s enterprises to work on the final disposal of radioactive waste, the company press service reports. The plant designed and found the funding for a near surface disposal facility for radioactive waste; this is currently Russia’s only facility where low- and very low-level radioactive waste can be disposed of safely and finally. Under the terms of the current legislation, the facility was handed over to the state-run National Radioactive Waste Treatment Operator.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 19, 2016. 1,272,800 m2 worth of new housing got commissioned in Sverdlovsk Region in January-September 2016, which was 27% less than one year previously, Sverdlovskstat reports. This figure includes 536,100 m2 worth of private houses, which was 35.4% less than in January-September 2015.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 18, 2016. A new crane bridge is now in use at the steel-smelting department of Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation’s Omsktransmash, the company press service reports. The lifting crane is meant for transportation and loading of scrap metal into furnaces and for transportation and pouring of scoops filled with hot metal. The new crane came to replace its obsolete counterpart that was in use for the last two decades. ‘As customer, Omsktransmash asked for a reinforced structure, an extra set of brakes, an upcoming load and hoist kick-out, and additional safety devices, and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 18, 2016. Eight of EVRAZ Holding’s employees are going to take part in the WorldSkills Hi Tech championship in Yekaterinburg on October 30-November 3, EVRAZ Holding Ural’s press office reports. The contestants come from the holding’s four member enterprises: West Siberian Integrated Metallurgical Works (ZSMK), Evrazruda, Nizhniy Tagil Integrated Metallurgical Works (NTMK), and Kachkanar Ore Mining & Processing Enterprise (KGOK). They will compete in Mechatronics, Welding, Wiring, and Industrial Automation. EVRAZ ZSMK’s Dmitri Fitz and Maxim Nutrikhin are

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 18, 2016. Ural Airlines completed the selection procedure for all the candidates who applied for co-pilot training, the airline’s press service reports. Applications could be submitted on September 26-29, 2016, with thirty-two people getting selected out of fifty-two candidates. The successful candidates now have a chance to train as co-pilots and work for the company. ‘All our candidates have a valid pilot’s license, some of them worked for other air carriers before and have actual flying experience, yet all of them were still faced with strict selection. The

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 18, 2016. Ural Airlines offered its services to 4,982,257 people in the nine months of 2016, which exceeded the figures for a year earlier by 17%, the air carrier’s press service reports. The airline operated 36,117 flights in January-September, including 22,893 domestic flights, 6,775 international flights, and 6,449 flights to or from the CIS member states. This was 11% more than one year earlier. Passenger turnover came to 11,835,524 passenger-kilometers (up 16% on a year earlier). In September 2016, Ural Airlines offered its services to 710,996 passengers,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 18, 2016. Public hearings on the construction of a private railroad were held in Tominsky, Chelyabinsk Region on October 14. The hearings were coordinated by Russian Copper Company’s Tominsky Ore Mining & Processing Enterprise, the company press service reports. Those who attended the hearings were presented all the information on the project required by the law. All the proposals submitted in the course of the hearings are to be considered within five days, whereupon the decision has to be made. Tominsky also hosted public hearings on the construction of a

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 17, 2016. EVRAZ Holding’s Kachkanar Ore Mining & Processing Enterprise (KGOK) and Nizhniy Tagil Integrated Metallurgical Works (NTMK) are now holding their yearly flu vaccination campaigns at the plants’ medical units. The two companies bought over 6,000 vaccines for the purpose, the holding’s press service reports. The workers are offered a modern, good quality vaccine that has been in use for a while now and proved to be efficient against a range of flu viruses. Immunization shots are available at the two plants’ twenty-four medical units 24/7. The campaign

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 17, 2016. Ural Airlines are now offering reduced-price tickets for the Crimea-bound flights operated from Yekaterinburg, Murmansk, and Kirov through November 30, the air carrier’s press service reports. A ticket for Yekaterinburg-Simferopol or Simferopol-Yekaterinburg flights now costs 2,500 RUR; that for Kirov-Simferopol or Simferopol-Kirov flight costs 2,000 RUR, and that for Murmansk-Simferopol or Simferopol-Murmansk costs 2,000 RUR; the price quoted applies to a one-way ticket, with all fees included. Reduced-price tickets are part of the government subsidy

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 17, 2016. ChTPZ Group is currently presenting its ceramic flux varieties at the 16th International Weldex Exhibition at Sokolniki Exhibition Center in Moscow. According to the company press service, the Group introduced new flux types UF-S and UF-02M this year. ChTPZ Group started making ceramic flux (used for regular and overlay welding) in 2004 as part of the company’s import substitution program. The Group is now one of Russia and Europe’s largest ceramic flux manufacturers, making 14,000,000 kg of flux a year. The Group’s share of the Russian ceramic flux

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 17, 2016. Federal Grid Company United Energy Systems Chair of the Supervisory Board Andrei Murov held a meeting on how to best prepare the company’s Urals-based energy facilities for the winter and the investment goals of 2016-2020, the company press service reports. During his visit to the Urals, Murov checked the upgrades introduced to one of Yekaterinburg’s key power sources, the 220-kilowatt Kalininskaya Substation. Most of the modernization jobs have by now been completed, the 220-kilowatt outdoor switchgear has been reconstructed, and two new transformer

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 17, 2016. Sverdlovsk Region-based employers owed their workers 9.437m RUR in terms of delayed wages and salaries as of October 1, 2016; this was 16.3 times more than one year earlier. According to Sverdlovskstat, the overall amount of wage arrears rose by 1.8% by October 1, 2016 compared with September 1, 2016.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 14, 2016. Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation’s Yurginsky Machine-Building Plant in Kemerovo is now making powered support units for Gramoteinskaya Mine, the company press service reports. A pilot unit was tried out in accordance with a specially developed procedure at the plant’s testing stand in early September. The unit was then presented to the customer once the tests had been completed. The power support unit designers pointed out the new product’s key advantages: ‘For one, the unit relies on hydraulic props where the working fluid pressure remains the same in both

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 14, 2016. Sinara Development came up with a performance report on the first year of its Yekaterinburg Arena Construction Project, Sinara Group’s press service reports. The general contractor for re-building Yekaterinburg Central Stadium in time for the world football championship of 2018 by now had the roof pylons and supports completed, the inner roof ring assembled, and all the concrete frames for the northern and southern spectator stands installed. Builders are currently working on the outer roof ring, putting up the western and the eastern spectator stands,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 14, 2016. Metcombank offers its customers Round customs card free of charge until the end of November. According to the bank’s press service, the offer is valid for corporates and sole traders. Round customs card is meant for paying customs duties right at the customs point anywhere throughout the country; the card conveniently eliminates the need for pre-payment. ‘A Round cardholder can transfer money into their card account online. The payment goes through in a matter of minutes, with the amount showing in the customs officer’s Customer Accounts system,’ the