A business conference called MMK: New Metal Goods Production & Supply Opportunities for Provincial Markets is still under way in Magnitogorsk; the conference is coordinated by Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) and the Russian Union of Metal Goods Suppliers. Over 90 representatives of MMK’s customers and traders that sell the company’s metal goods are taking part in the event. Such conferences have been held in Magnitogorsk for over a decade now. ‘No other Russian metallurgical enterprise has changed as dramatically as MMK over these ten years. Actually, we tried to focus on the

VSMPO-Avisma Corporation was unable to fulfill all the orders its customers had placed in the seven months of 2012, the corporation’s Director-General Mikhail Voyevodin said in an interview to Novator. ‘Our production departments were unable to fulfill all of the customers’ orders. The corporation’s personnel, especially the workers employed at VSMPO, need to pull themselves together and meet the target figures. We are already getting next year’s orders from our customers, and if we finish the year 2012 off with unfulfilled contracts, our prospects of manufacturing 34,000 tons of goods in

Sverdlovsk Region public prosecution authorities took administrative action against Russian Magnesium for violating the labor legislation. The company currently owes 58 of its workers over 1.1m RUR in wage arrears for June and July 2012, the spokesperson for the public prosecution authorities reports. The offenses were detected in the course of an inspection by the prosecution authorities. Following the detected violations, the public prosecutor of Asbest ordered the Director-General of Russian Magnesium Alexei Ginsburg to eliminate the Russian Labor Code violations, and the legal entity

VSMPO-Avisma Corporation does not think it impossible that it might leave the Titanium Valley Project. Even though it was the corporation itself that initiated the launch of this special economic zone, the company might actually start implementing its project outside this zone, using the land allotments belonging to VSMPO, the corporation’s Director-General Mikhail Voyevodin said in an interview to Novator. Now only four residents have registered in Titanium Valley Special Economic Zone so far. The first section of the first stage of the construction has been nearly finished by now. ‘Yet when

Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation’s net profit came to 4.1bn RUR in the first six months of 2012. The company’s staff are trying to set a new production record of 27,000 units of railway vehicles, as the demand for such products is always high thanks to its great quality. The assembly departments meet their foreign contract obligations in due time and fulfill the government defense order as well, in fact, this order is 48% larger this year than a year earlier. The demand for civil goods is also growing, First Deputy Director-General Vladimir Shmakov announced at the

The net profit of X5 Retail Group N.V. in the first half of 2012 came to $135m, which is 20.6% less than in the first half of 2011. The net profit margin came to 1.7%, Retailer.ru refers to the company’s consolidated intermediary financial data for the second quarter of the year as stating; these data were compiled in accordance with the IAS. In the second quarter, X5’s net revenues rose by 9.8% in Russian rubles compared with a year earlier and amounted to 123.6bn RUR, and at the same time decreased by 0.8% in the U.S. dollars and amounted to $3.99bn. Sales grew among the ‘soft discounters’

By August 2012, Sverdlovsk Region’s industrial production index has already exceeded the figures for the seven months of 2011 by 12%, while the volume of shipped industrial goods and services rendered amounted to 787bn RUR. At the same time, about 50% of the industrial turnover falls into the metallurgical goods sector, Sverdlovsk Region Industry & Science Minister Vladislav Pinayev said at a meeting of Sverdlovsk Region Union of Industrialists & Employers’ Industry & Natural Monopolies Interaction Committee. Pinayev feels the region’s industrial development is hindered by the

The industrial production growth rates in Ural Federal District were 0.4% higher in January-June 2012 than in January-June 2011. The growth was mainly due to the processing industries. In January-June 2012, the industrial production index for mineral resources production fell short of the figures for January-June 2011 by 1.5%; that for the processing industries increased by 5.9%, and that for the production of electric power, natural gas, and water, rose by 0.3%. In January-June 2012, the oil production output went up by 22.1% in Tyumen Region. However, as regards Ural Federal District on the

Starting August 22, Ural Airlines will offer a new service for passengers flying to Germany. When booking a plane ticket for a Munich – or a Cologne-bound flight that departs from Russia, passengers can benefit from a free train trip via Deutsche Bahn. To use the service, one has to opt for the rate that includes the train trip when booking the ticket. The itinerary receipt will have a special code called the tix code or the pick-up number: this code has to be entered into one of Deutsche Bahn’s 3,500 Germany-based terminals, and a printed train ticket will come out. The journey can be made

Sinara Pipe Plant (a part of Pipe Metallurgical Company, TMK) held its traditional all-plant professional skills contest among the young ferrous metal production supervisors. Five young women, the winners of the preliminary contest stages at the company’s Technical Supervision Department, joined in the final stage of the contest. The board of jurors comprised heads and experts from Sinara Pipe Plant divisions and the representatives of the company’s trade union. They looked at the supervisors’ knowledge of how the devices and the equipment worked, at their expertise in the field of labor

Uralvagonzavod’s innovative product was given a compliance certificate. Now the multi-purpose vehicle is classed as a commercial product and can be offered to customers. The certification of TMB-2 was quite a success. All the safety, environmental, and labor protection requirements have been met, so now the product is not just a pilot sample but a full-fledged commercial output. The next stage is getting permission from Rostechnadzor, which will mean the vehicle can be used on the Russian territory. The permission will only be granted in the fall. For the time being, TMB-2 will take part in

RID-Expert RA, the consortium of the Russian Directors Institute (RID) and the rating agency Expert RA, affirmed the rating of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) on the National Corporate Governance Rating scale at 8 (Developed CG Practice). MMK’s corporate governance practice was monitored in July 2011-July 2012. Changes in the practice (a new BOD, an introduction of a new collegial executive body, the Supervisory Board, and some other novelties) did not affect the rating estimate. MMK’s National Corporate Governance Rating has remained the same and was affirmed at 8.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service imposed a 100,000-RUR fine on OOO Severnaya Kazna Insurance Company for unfair competition practices on the car insurance market on August 14, 2012, the agency reports. Now on January 26, 2012, the FAS committee declared that the defendant’s illegitimate use of the ‘50/50’ sign that was virtually indistinguishable from trademarks 368033 and 372059 (which belong to AlfaStrakhovaniye) should be seen as unfair competition. The committee came to this conclusion because such actions violate Article 14 (part 1, paragraph 4) of the Federal Competition Protection Act.

METCOMBANK’s branch at Koltsovo Airport of Yekaterinburg started operating today, on August 20. The new branch located in Terminal B of the international airport (at 1E Bakhchivandzhi St.), the bank’s press service reports. ‘Our bank is trying to get closer to its customers: the new office will be very convenient for those who travel a lot and don’t always have the time to stop by the bank. For one, currency can now be exchanged right at the airport prior to leaving for abroad. Our clerks will always come to your help if you have some urgent financial business to handle yet you only have

Uralvagonzavod Scientific Production Corporation will present its new tractor RT-M-160U with a firefighting device at the 7th International Exhibition Defense & Protection 2012. The new tractor is a modified version of the wheel agricultural tractor the plant has been making since 2004. In July 2011, Kurgan Region Government’s Forestry Department appealed to Uralvagonzavod, asking to complement tractor RT-M-160U with a special firefighting device. It took the plant’s engineers six months to fulfill this task, and by the end of 2011, this Nizhniy Tagil-based enterprise shipped four

OAO Sinara Pipe Plant (a part of Pipe Metallurgical Company, TMK) came up with the pilot samples of high quality iron ore raw stuff obtained from cinder and sludge; the characteristics of this stuff are comparable with the best kinds of iron ore mix and pellets produced in Russia. Ferrous metallurgical enterprises tend to accumulate most of their iron-containing waste on special sites rather than recycle it in the production process, which affects the environment badly. Thus the fact that Sinara Pipe Plant and Yekaterinburg-based Specialized Design Office for Mechanization & Automation

Analysts from Sravni.ru came up with a list of banks that Russian customers entrusted most money with last month. The rating was based on the data provided by Russia’s Central Bank. The rating features both capital-based and provincial banks. For example, customers from all parts of Russia deposited 2.51bn RUR at SKB-Bank in July. This ensured the bank the 9th position in the total rating, which was better than any other Ural Federal District-based bank did. These impressive growth rates were made possible due to the advantageous deposit terms that SKB-Bank offered its customers. The interest

The construction site of Power Generating Unit 4 with its BH-800 reactor will be handed over to Beloyarskaya Nuclear Power Station before the end of this year, OAO Concern Rosenergoatom reports. Most of the building jobs at the site are about to be completed by now, so it was decided to close down the subsidiary Beloyarskaya Nuclear Power Station under Construction’s Directorate (which is currently responsible for managing the emerging power generating unit). By November 2012, the subsidiary will become part of Beloyarskaya Nuclear Power Station as its Capital Construction Administration. The

Rostechnologii State Corporation sold 15.14% of the shares it has in Ural Mechano-Optical Plant Production Association (PO UOMZ) to the Federal Public Property Management Agency on August 16. This means its share in PO UOMZ went down from 92.6% to 77.46%, the plant’s reports state. The Federal Public Property Management Agency, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation, thus acquired the right to control 1,016,200 ordinary shares; this means its stake in the plant increased from 7.4% to 22.54%.

OAO Rostelecom is about to complete the re-branding of its cell communication assets. Utel, the brand that was used in advertising campaigns for one year, will soon disappear. Starting September 17, 2012, twenty-two Russian constituencies will be offered mobile telecommunication services under the federal brand Rostelecom, the company’s press service reports. Now OAO Uralsvyazinform was reorganized through a merger with OAO Rostelecom a while ago. Prior to this merger, Uralsvyazinform used to operate under the brand name Utel.