Two switchyards with capacities of 400 and 250 kilovolt-amperes have recently been installed in Artemovsk network of SverdlovEnergo JSC. To make this possible, a five-kilometer transmission facility for 10 and .4 kilovolt was built; the project was estimated to cost 2.4 million RUR. These switchyards are to provide electricity for residents of Alexander Matrosov St and Shkolnaya St with their 80 private houses, 2 blocks of flats, a school and a kindergarten. The introduction of switchyards will also provide for the village of IMZ in Irbit, Sverdlovsk Region, reports the company’s spokesperson.

TIRUS Interregional Dealer Network (dealing in tubes) has recently become part of CHTPZ Group. According to the spokesperson for CHTPZ, both networks have so far been working independently but coordinating their sales and supplies. The two companies will merge in the second quarter of 2006. According to CHTPZ Sales and Marketing Director P. Pelyugin, the merger will ensure a more effective promotion of tubes and pipes produced by Tube Works of Pervouralsk and Tube Rolling works Chelyabinsk on the regional markets.

KarabashMed CJSC (copper works and part of Russian Copper Company) assessed the preliminary results of their non-waste production project. According to the spokesperson for Russian Copper Company Alexander Khanin, the project started five years ago with the launch of an oxygen plant produced by Linde AG of Germany in May 2001. The oxygen feeding of furnaces and converters reduced the amount of process gas and the level of pollution considerably. Some intake facilities in Bogorodskiy pond and the reverse water supply system were introduced in 2001 as well. The next step consisted in launching

‘We have placed a claim against Khoroshiy Vkus (Good Taste) food enterprise with the Court of Arbitration recently,’ the meatpacking plant’s Marketing Director Sergei Vorobyov said to UrBC representative. Sverdlovsk Region Court of Arbitration is to consider the claim tomorrow. ‘We thought it was essential that the patenting services make an examination and produce the results; this should have been completed by tomorrow, and our further strategy will entirely depend on their decision,’ Mr Vorobyov said.

Two switchyards with capacities of 400 and 250 kilovolt-amperes have recently been installed in Artemovsk network of SverdlovEnergo JSC. To make this possible, a five-kilometer transmission facility for 10 and .4 kilovolt was built; the project was estimated to cost 2.4 million RUR. These switchyards are to provide electricity for residents of Alexander Matrosov St and Shkolnaya St with their 80 private houses, 2 blocks of flats, a school and a kindergarten. The introduction of switchyards will also provide for the village of IMZ in Irbit, Sverdlovsk Region, reports the company’s spokesperson.

Russian Federation Government annulled the so-called gold share privilege in 36 companies after the corresponding decree had been signed by Head of Government Mikhail Fradkov on February 20, 2006, reports the spokesperson for the Government. The unfortunate companies include joint-stock companies: Kachkanar and Vysokogorsk ore mining and processing enterprises, and South Ural Cryolite Works.

Sole trader Lev Kovpak reports that the regional Kirovskiy supermarket chain is to acquire new proprietorship in the second half of 2006 (at the moment, 95% of the stores function as individual enterprises belonging to Mr Kovpak). ‘This is being done in order to adjust our policy to the new alcohol-trading legislation. In the second half of 2006, sole traders will begin to grow less efficient, so we’ve decided to move on to joint-stock companies that will probably have all the rights to Kirovskiy trademark,’Mr Kovpak said.

Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MMVB Stock Exchange) began to trade the interest-bearing documentary non-convertible bonds of Magnesite Group Ltd. Face value of a bond is 1,000 RUR, the total quantity of the bonds is 1.5 million RUR. The total number of coupons is 6. The first three coupons interest rate has been established at the level of 9.85 % per annum. The drawn-on date is December 18, 2008.

‘In January, the freezing weather and the natural gas supply limits the plant’s output underwent some changes. Basically, we had to merely survive and all our efforts were aimed at meeting the scheduled production goals,’ the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative. According to the plant management, the company shipped (by rail) one-third less of metal in January 2006 than a year earlier. The loss of profits has been estimated to come to 70 million RUR. Yet the plant ships 18% of everything transported via the local railroad service.

Russian Federation Government annulled the so-called gold share privilege in 36 companies after the corresponding decree had been signed by Head of Government Mikhail Fradkov on February 20, 2006, reports the spokesperson for the Government. The unfortunate companies include Russian Tube Industry Research Institute JSC.

Magnesit Group investments into reconstruction and replacement of its member, Kombinat Magnesite, conservation services are expected to come to 91.76 million RUR within 2006. The company’s strategy is guided by the need to make sure that its environmental management system complies with the international standards as well as the growing requirements of Russian environmental regulations. Environmental projects section of Magnesite Group investments program provides for reconstruction of existing nature-conserving services, withdrawal of outdated units, perfection of existing environmental

UralRromBank Board of Directors announced the annual general meeting on April 7, 2006. The points on the agenda include approving the annual balance sheet as well as the profit and loss account as well as their distribution. In what regards the dividends, the Board decided to pay only the preference share dividends and pass the other types. Besides, the shareholders will have to agree on Listik and Partners Ltd. as their auditor and Ms N. A. Yudina as their inspector. Some amendments to the company’s Charter and the Board of Direction Statute.

The decennial jubilee of SUAL Group was celebrated on February 22, 2006 with the SUAL member Sevuralboksitruda JSC mining its 200,000,000th ton of bauxite ore. The celebration of the event took place at Kalyinskaya mine. It was attended by the regional government First Deputy Industry Minister Nikolai Tikhonov, SUAL Holding Ural Regional Vice-President Anatoly Sysoev, Sevuralboksitruda GD Viktor Rad’ko, Head of BAZ-SUAL Sibagatulla Aminov, top-management representatives of UAZ-SUAL, Director of Kalyinskaya mine Viktor Neustroev and the crew of Mikhail Novozhilov that mined the 200,000,000th

Chelnetma JSC is going to hold the annual general meeting on April 17, 2006. The points on the agenda include approving the annual balance sheet as well as the profit and loss account; the shareholders had to confirm the Board’s decision to withhold dividends for 2005, too. In addition, the meeting has to result in electing the new Board of Directors and the inspection Committee as well as deciding on the company’s auditor for 2006.

Uralmashzavod JSC, member of OMZ-Uralmash, produced wicket gate and foundation units for modernization of water turbines at two stations of Volzhsky coordinated hydroelectric system and shipped them to Silovye Mashiny JSC. The total weight of the equipment is 370 tons. The production contract with Leningradsky Metallichesky Zavod (branch of Silovye Mashiny JSC) was negotiated in May 2005. According to the report of Uralmashzavod PR-Department, this contract is the company’s second contract for production of water turbine equipment. Under the terms of the first one, OMZ shipped 712 tons of

UglemetBank JSC Board of Directors decided to close their Moscow subsidiary last Monday. According to Deputy GD Nikolay Romanenko, this had to do with the final transfer of the bank’s headquarters to Chelyabinsk and therefore making the structure of the company less extended. Up to then, two of the bank’s subsidiaries were operating in Moscow, one of which was set up in 2005 as an interim office. ‘Now the representative functions of one of the offices in Moscow are to be delegated to the other subsidiary,’ Mr Romanenko said.

Metallurgical company of Magnitogorsk made 29,819,793 million RUR in net profit in 2005, which is 10.84% (3,626,687 million RUR) less than a year earlier. The company reports that the decrease was caused by the prime cost going up faster than the sales profits, which in turn had been caused by the increase in raw and fuel energy prices.

Chelyabinsk-Stroyindustriya Manufacturing Commercial Enterprise Ltd. (part of ChelSI) building materials producer of Chelyabinsk, repaired 159 kilometers of roads in 2005, including 73.8 kilometers of federal highways and 85.2 kilometers of city roads (Gorky St, Komsomolskiy Ave, Brothers Kashirini St, Gagarin St, Tankograd St, Svoboda St, Zhukov St, Tchaikovsky St, Meridian Rd, Troitskiy highway). The enterprise fitted 259,192 square meters of road concrete mix, 16,800 square meters of paving slabs, 26,030 meters of curbing, 32,368 fencing units, reports ChelSI spokesperson.

In April 2006, machines for press rigging production will be supplied to Kombinat Magnezit JSC (a member of refractory industry holding company Magnezit Group). The company negotiated an equipment delivery contract with Swiss firm GALIKA AG. The equipment is destined for the high-tech centre of Kombinat Magnezit JSC. The company is going to launch a domestic manufacturing and maintenance of press rigging by 2008. The total costs of the project will come to 76 million RUR, the PR-department of Kombinat Magnezit JSC reported to UrBC representative. The first project evaluations and results are

A new loading tray is installed and set into operation in the ore and charge conditioning plant of melting shop of Ufaleynickel JSC (nickel producer of Verkhny Ufaley in Chelyabinsk Region), the company’s PR-department reported to UrBC representative. The chute moves the ore from the plant into the melting shop. It opens up a possibility to proceed with ore transportation during any kind of the main tray repairing and hence prevents from interrupting the company’s production operations.