The year 2005 was marked by the unprecedented amount of gross emissions by NTMK (Metallurgical Complex of Nizhniy Tagil) JSC, part of Evraz Group. It came to 99,700 tons per year, reports the company’s spokesperson. NTMK JSC went through an audit procedure and was given the international standard ISO 14001:2004 environmental certificate in 2005.

Sverdlovsk Region consumers will have to pay 337 099 RUR per 1,000 gigacalories in 2006, which is 11.2% more than before, Director of Sverdlovsk Region Energy Committee Nikolay Podkopai announced at today’s press conference. According to Mr Podkopai, the general tariffs for all kinds of budgetary consumers came to 378 487 RUR per 1,000 gigacalories, which means an increase of 13.4%; the tariffs for housing companies came to 322 681 RUR (an increase of 12.2% compared to 2005), the tariffs for agricultural commodity producers reached the point of 408 215 RUR (an increase of 13.1%), the tariffs

‘The introducition of Fiat dealer center in Chelyabinsk has been postponed by a minimum of two months,’ Galina Semusheva, PR Manager of SeverstalAuto JSC, said to UrBC representative. It is reported via the corporate website that SeverstalAuto JSC is hoping to sell at least 2000 Fiat cars in Russia throughout this year. The most probable flagship products are Fiat Grande Punto, Fiat Albea and Fiat Doblo. A special new dealer network is going to be set up to ensure the successful selling of cars; the network will supposedly have comprised 20 retail and service outlets by the end of 2006, 15

Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel met representatives of Iva CJSC and Ural Motorists Association today. The meeting had to do with the projected construction of an auto mall to be located on Yekateriburg-Koltsovo Airport highway. The mall is to host about 30 motor shows, car repairs, hotels, test-drive tracks and a customs terminal. The mall will come to something between $ 100 and $150 million, to be completed by Iva CJSC within three years’ time.

‘The total sales of LADA and Chery brands comprised 3,000 cars in 2005,’ Natalia Voronina, Marketing Director of Lada-BEST Ltd., said to UrBC representative. ‘Given that we only started to deal in Chinese cars in November 2005, and the fierce competition among both Russian and foreign cars, this is a good record. We are expecting to increase our sales by 20% in 2006 and therefore reach the annual figure of 3,600 cars,’ Ms Voronina said.

‘We’ve sent out letters to local producers offering to set up business partnerships, and we’re going to meet suppliers in February in order to set our shared goals and Auchan’s expectations,’ General Director of Auchan Trading Company’s Assistant Olga Chuvirova said to UrBC representative. ‘The company is thinking of introducing some more hypermarkets in Sverdlovsk Region,’ Ms Chuvirova noted.

Ufaleinickel JSC (nickel producer of Ufaley, Chelyabinsk Region) has started reconstruction of its # 3 converter. The repairs include full renovation of casing, replacement of firebox wall and dust hood. The company received innovative fire-bricks from Slovakia on January 26. The bricks have never been used before an are going to be implemented for lining the converter, the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative.

Nizhnetagilsky Metallurgichesky Kombinat (Metallurgical works of Nizhny Tagil) JSC,member of Evraz Group, has defined the main objects of reconstruction for 2006, reports PR-department of the company. So, the fifth coke furnace battery shut up in July 2005 will be set in operation by the company’s by-product coke productions division. The company also hopes to finish construction of the fifth blast-furnace complex for its blast-furnace production division. The steelmaking division will acquire a new circulation vacuum vessel to be used for outgassing of molten steel. The rolling production

Magnitostroy JSC, a bankrupt plant of Magnitogorsk, has to set up the debt-paying scheme to be presented at the Chelyabinsk Region Ministry of Industry and Natural Resources by February 3, 2006. This was decided at the special meeting of Magnitogorsk town council chaired by Chelyabinsk Region Minister of Industry and Natural Resources Evgeniy Teftelev that took place last Friday. The representatives of the town council, members of local divisions of Russian Federation Pension Fund, officers of Federal Medical Insurance Fund and public prosecution bodies and the company management (acting GD

The plant owes Chelyabisnk Region about 900 million RUR at the moment, the floating debt being 154 million RUR (of which 3.2 million should be given to Medical Insurance); the pension assignments for 2002 also have to be paid. The company went bust in September 2005. Demand for Chinese Chery gradually goes up, claims Aspect Motors Ltd. ‘The demand for Chery, a Chinese car, has been going up gradually,’ says Sales Manager of Aspect Motors Ltd. Dmitriy Anufriev. ‘The brand has been increasingly gaining popularity since it became available in November 2005. We are expecting further improvements

‘We are going to introduce some new units that will allow us to produce 800 megawatt and, moreover, combine the production of thermal energy with electricity which will, in its turn, lead to a smaller prime cost,’ Leonid Chetverkin, Managing Director of the local subsidiary of TGK-9 JSC, generating company, announced at today’s press conference. According to Mr Chetverkin, TGK-9 is producing plenty of energy now. During the cold weather week, for example, the company had been producing 1,000 megawatt more than was actually needed for Sverdlovsk region, so 1,700 megawatt of extras was given to

Uralvagonzavod Federal State Unitary Enterprise hosted a meeting initiated by the Carriage Department of Russian Railways Public Company. Representatives of Russian Railway Transport Research Institute, of various Russian carriage makers and of carriage services operating on Siberian and Far Eastern railroads were among the participants. The meeting concerned the launch of the new 18-578 trolley that had been designed in Ural Carriage Engineering Design Office and produced by Uralvagonzavod. 14,000 12-132-03 gondolas with this trolley type had been produced throughout 2004 and 2005. According

The decision of Tartar Republic Court of court of Appellate Jurisdiction concerning the liability of Nefis Cosmetics JSC to publish the court order prohibiting the production and selling of its Milenkaya Feya (Pretty Fairy) shampoo is going to come into effect this week, reports the spokesperson for Kalina Concern JSC. This court order is due to Kalina Concern JSC (the producer of Malenkaya Feya (Little Fairy), their registered trademark) making use of its own rights. The trademark legislation provides for the right of the producer to demand that the producer of infringing goods publish the

‘Foreign banks are bound to increase their involvement in Russian banking business,’ Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia and Director of Crediting Organizations Inspectorate Gennadiy Melikyan announced at the press conference on Friday. ‘Yet their share is not too big at the moment, especially compared to Poland or Hungary with their 95% share of foreign banks. We’ve only got 11%. It has been on the increase lately, but I don’t think we can expect a dramatic upstart,’ Mr Melikyan said. ‘We can only create subsidiaries of foreign banks in Russia and not branches as such as it is not

While the weather remains cold, Chelyabinsk state district power plant works in a tensioned mode. The thermal load comes to 485 Gcal per hour whereas the installed thermal power amounts to 838 Gcal. 6 of 8 turbines and all the 4 water boilers are functioning at the moment. The heating medium temperature is kept at about 115 degrees centigrade. It could be increased to 150 degrees centigrade, if needed. The water boiler load comes to 60%. In view of the gas supply restrictions that touched Chelyabinskaya Generiruyushchaya Kompaniya energy supplier, Chelyabinsk state district power plant is

The Federal Space Agency has made the results of its selection process known. The position of General Director of Machine Building Works of Zlatoust Federal State Unitary Enterprise was given to Sergei Lemeshevskiy, the company’s acting GD since September 2005. The Federal Space Agency is going to sign an agreement with the new GD shortly.

Shareholders of Uralterminalmash CJSC, industrial company of Miass, Chelyabinsk Region, are to consider the company’s financial policy on February 28, 2006. The agenda of this extraordinary meeting includes the company’s economic policy. The shareholders are going to address the first board of creditors asking them to improve the company’s financial policy. The second item on the agenda concerns the early leave of the General Director Peter Pavlov and the new GD election process.

According to EESK JSC, electricity supplier of Yekaterinburg, the local electricity networks are no longer overloaded since the outside temperature has gone up. Today’s peak was only 850 megawatt (compared to last Friday’s alarming record of 916 megawatt), and the equipment is being gradually put to the normal winter operation routine.

Chelyabinskregiongas Ltd., natural gas supplier, cut back on supplies for the boiler houses located in CHMK JSC, metallurgical industrial complex of Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk Region, the spokesperson for the town council reports. The temperature of the heat carriers in the area now comes to 105 degrees centigrade as opposed to the norm of 120 degrees. The complex is trying to use other kinds of fuel but it is apparently not enough to keep the temperature of the heat supply system the same as the temperature of the air. This could lead to a 5- to 7-degree decrease of temperature in the flats of

Vladimir Bobrov, former R&D Director of Visokogorskiy Gornoobogatitelniy Komninat JSC, ore mining and processing enterprise of Nizhniy Tagil, was appointed the company’s Managing Director on January 25, 2006. Mr Bobrov was born on October 22, 1948 in Nizhniy Tagil. The former Managing Director Mikhail Krupin resigned on January 21, 2006.