UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 17, 2019. The concentration of chrysotile fibers in the soil next to FORES’s Tekhnokeramika in Shadrinsk, Sverdlovsk Region, stays well below the existing normative requirements, NIIProyektAsbest Asbestos Environmental Problems Center’s authorized lab’s test findings indicate. According to FORES’s press service, the testing of the samples was part of the extended environmental monitoring procedure that Tekhnokeramika is doing this year. The lab took the necessary samples on the outer end of the sanitary protection area next to the apartment building at 68

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 16, 2019. Experts from Rosatom’s R&D division and Ural Federal University (UFU) met in Yekaterinburg on July 12 to look into a clean energy technology proposal presented by Roman Yagovitin, who is now in his fourth year at UFU, Rosatom’s press service reports. Yagovitin suggested a technology for producing complex oxides for nuclear fuel cells that will result in environmentally safe energy and eliminate the need for hydrocarbons as a fuel source. ‘The idea is to develop new, active materials that get used to make stoneware. The stoneware, in its turn, is the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 16, 2019. Starting July 12, all of the Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s customers will be able to apply for a credit card with the longest grace period currently available in Russia (up to 240 days), the bank’s press service reports. According to the UBRD Marketing Director Alexei Merzlyakov, this is the first time a Russian bank has introduced such a long interest-free period on credit cards. ‘Two years ago, we proved the country’s first bank to introduce a 120-day grace period. The market is changing fast however, with something new happening every

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 16, 2019. The average retail price of potatoes rose by 41.2% between early June and early July 2019, Sverdlovsk Region Agriculture Ministry’s report indicates. According to Sverdlovskstat, potato prices averaged at RUB 26.97 per kg on June 3, 2019 and at RUB 38.09 per kg by July 1, 2019. The day potatoes could be bought the cheapest was April 29, 2019 (RUB 20.48 per kg on average). ‘The price dynamics of field vegetables gets affected by seasonal factors more than ever during the year, as farmers are switching from selling their harvested potatoes directly from the

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, July 16, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) introduced sixteen different robotic software applications at the plant that can all perform the functions of actual employees. By the end of the year, the robotic process automation (RPA) will cover thirty-two production processes all in all, the company’s press service reports. Head of MMK InformService Project Office Valeriy Rybolovlev gave a talk on the results of the plant’s RPA efforts at the Digital Transformation in Metallurgy Conference during Innoprom 2019 Exhibition in Yekaterinburg. It is reported that

UrBC, Moscow, July 16, 2019. 611,800 new foreign cars (including LCVs) got sold in Russia in the first half of 2019, which was 4% less than in January-June 2018, Autostat reports. This means the share of new foreign cars now comes to 73.8% of the Russian market, compared with 74.7% one year earlier (January-June 2018). It is also reported that, as far as the ten best-selling foreign makes are concerned, the sales of Ford and Nissan dropped substantially (-18% and -15%, respectively).

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, July 15, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) coordinated a conference on digital transformation in metallurgy during Innoprom 2019 Forum in Yekaterinburg, MMK’s Information & PR Department reports. The company representatives gave a talk on their experience with introducing IT solutions into production and spoke about the prospects of further digitizing their business processes. Magnitogorsk-based Ausferr Tech & Research Center and the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Ural branch acted as MMK’s partners and conference co-organizers. With Ausferr’s support,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 15, 2019. OOO FORES’s quality management system got re-certified for compliance with the international standard ISO 9001:2015, the company’s press service reports. ‘The second round of the audit took place in early June 2019 and involved FORES’s Administration, Asbest branch, Kuryi branch, and Shadrinsk-based OOO Tekhnokeramika,’ the press service says. TUV NORD CERT GmbH auditors confirmed at the end of the checks that all of the inspected divisions and branches fully complied with the ISO 9001:2015 requirements; the company’s certificate got renewed for one more

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 15, 2019. MegaFon and Nizhnyaya Tura Council started working on digitizing the town’s urban transit infrastructure together: there are now sixteen ‘smart bus/tram stops’ in Nizhnyaya Tura, the telecom company’s press service reports. ‘The old bus stops have been replaced with modern ones, complete with security appliances and telecom services. While waiting for your bus to arrive, you can now use the free wireless connection or charge your mobile device using one of the USB chargers provided. MegaFon’s SmartStops can be found in Govorov St, Novaya St, Malyshev St,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 15, 2019. Three workers of EVRAZ Holding’s Nizhniy Tagil Iron and Steel Works (EVRAZ NTMK) won the Cherepanov Award this year, EVRAZ Holding Ural’s Corporate Communications Center’s PR Department reports. EVRAZ NTMK’s Blast Furnace Upgrade Project Manager Pavel Kolpakov, Head of EVRAZ NTMK’s Blast Furnace Department Konstantin Mironov, and Director at EVRAZ NTMK Inventors’ & Patent Work Office Vladimir Balyan were among the sixteen awardees. The awards were given out by First Vice Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexei Orlov during the Innoprom Exhibition. Pavel

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 15, 2019. Mayor of Yekaterinburg Alexander Vysokinsky took part in a meeting of the work group for the World Summer Universiade that Yekaterinburg will be hosting in 2023, the town council’s website indicates. The preparation team talked about the effects of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Yekaterinburg, when the President got acquainted with the project for the Universiade-hosting site. Vladimir Putin also looked into the proposals for the preparations necessary to host the games, and approved of the initiatives. The work group believes the next

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 12, 2019. Lack of workers with digital skills is one of the key obstacles to the speedier digitization of Russia’s industry, ChelPipe Group’s shareholder Andrei Komarov said at Innoprom 2019 International Industrial Exhibition’s plenary session (The Industry of the Future: Growth Potential in New Digital Technologies & Organizational Models), the Group’s press service reports. Russia’s Deputy Minister for Industry & Trade Oleg Bocharov chaired the session. Government officials and members of the expert and business communities talked about the prospects of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 12, 2019. A discussion on AI solutions for ‘smart cities’ took place within the 10th Innoprom International Industrial Exhibition’s business program in Yekaterinburg. Maxim Isayev contributed to the talks, Rusatom Infrastructure Solutions/Rusatom Smart Utilities’ press service reports. ‘321 projects have been registered with Russia’s Construction & Utilities Ministry’s Smart City National Project’s database so far. The existing variety of Smart City solutions covers different parts of urban infrastructure: energy efficiency, control over communal housing

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, July 12, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) is now Hi Tech Produce Exporter of The Year, singled out among all the other enterprises operating in Ural Federal District, MMK’s Information & PR Department reports. The awarding ceremony for Exporter of The Year Prize winners took place during the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS 2019) in Yekaterinburg this week. MMK won in the Ural Federal District round of the contest (Large Business) and will now take part in the all-Russian stage of the competition. The Exporter of The Year Prize was

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 12, 2019. The sock filter RIF 1700 stayed functional for over two years at the rotating roasting kiln unit at FORES’s Kuryuinsky branch; at the end of June, a new set of filtration sleeves had to get installed there, the company’s press service reports. ‘The filtering appliances’ lifespan depends on how much workload they have to handle. Albokos, the filter manufacturer, provided a two-year performance guarantee on the product. As a matter of fact, the filters remained efficient for much longer,’ says the branch director Vladimir Golovin. According to FORES, a filter

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 12, 2019. EVRAZ Holding’s Raspadskaya Coal Company is going to coordinate a grand-scale sports event Raspadskaya GunterCup 2019 in Novokuznetsk; Russia’s leading basketball players and the band Quest Pistols Show will be contributing to the show. According to Raspadskaya Coal Company’s PR Department, the event will take place at Arena Novokuznetsk on July 13. Workers from EVRAZ Consolidated West-Siberian Metallurgical Plant (EVRAZ ZSMK), Sibuglemet, and Raspadskaya Coal Company, young sports players from Novokuznetsk’s children’s sports clubs, and the town locals are

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 11, 2019. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin took a tour of Innoprom 2019 International Industrial Exhibition during his recent visit to Yekaterinburg. According to the Kremlin’s website, the President went to the stand of Russia’s Ministry for Trade & Industry, where Aurora, the Russian mobile operating system, and Aquarius, a tablet computer, are being featured at the moment; Vladimir Putin also attended a presentation of SmartFlat and visited the stands of several Sverdlovsk Region-based companies. The last time Vladimir Putin went to Innoprom in Yekaterinburg

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 11, 2019. The business-oriented bank DeloBank and SKB-Bank present a range of business solutions at their joint stand at Innoprom 2019 International Industrial Exhibition this year, the bank’s press service reports. The stand can be found at Pavilion 1 in Yekaterinburg EXPO and features an up-to-date mobile office with two information desks. Visitors to DeloBank’s area can learn about the bank’s services and commissions/fees as well as evaluate the potential of DeloKassa, a smart terminal/electronic cash desk. You can try it out right there, for example, pay for a

UrBC, Moscow, July 11, 2019. 4,242,555 people have flown with Ural Airlines in January-June 2019 (+8% on one year earlier), the air carrier’s press service reports. 2,057,414 passengers went on the airline’s domestic flights; 2,185,141 passengers have flown internationally. The airline operated 29,237 flights in January-June 2019 (+4% on the year 2018), including 14,536 domestic flights and 14,701 international flights. The company’s passenger turnover increased by 10% and reached 10,364,646,000 passenger-kilometers. ‘944,120 people flew with Ural Airlines in June 2019, which exceeded the

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, July 11, 2019. The annual Ural Youth Forum/UTRO 2019 took place in Tyumen this week; young workers at MMK Group participated in the event, the Group’s press service reports. The forum included Rosmolodezh’s all-Russian youth project contest as usual: 89 proposals, including 29 submitted by Chelyabinsk Region-based applicants, are now expected to receive grant funding (total amount to get granted: RUB 16m). This means the local winners will bring RUB 6.76m to Chelyabinsk Region to implement a series of social projects. Two of the winners come from MMK: one of them, Dmitri