May 26, 2015. Students of ChTPZ Group Training Center won a full set of prize medals at the 3d All-Russian WorldSkills 2015 championship, the Group’s press service reports. Gold in Mechatronics went to fourth-year students of Pervouralsk Metallurgical School on the Group’s Future of White Metallurgy Corporate Training Program Ilya Ivanov and Alexander Pauls. Nikolay Vinogradov, the school’s second-year student, won the silver medal in Industrial Automation, while the corporate program’s alumnus and employee of ChTPZ Group’s Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant Anton Shalakhov got the bronze one in

May 26, 2015. According to Sverdlovsk Region Government’s draft proposal, the living wage in the area is to go up by 15% and amount to 9,959 RUR a month in the third quarter of 2015. The monthly cost of living is estimated at 10,604 RUR for working-age citizens, at 8,194 RUR for retirees, and at 10,249 RUR for children. The wage adjustments have to do with growing prices, as the cost of living is calculated on the basis of how much a market basket costs according to statistical bodies’ data.

May 25, 2015. Omsktransmash (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) took a set of accident- and injury-preventing measures that halved the number of injuries at work in the first quarter of the year, the company’s press service reports. ‘There were six injuries (five of them minor) at the plant in the first three months of the year. This is, in percentage terms, two times less than a year earlier,’ the press service says. Most of the injuries are typically related to workers’ negligence and deliberate violation of safety rules. Those who get injured tend to fall in the 35-plus age

May 25, 2015. ChTZ Uraltrac (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) is about to r-launch its NC machines IR1250 that have been given an overhaul. According to the corporation’s press service, the machines got a new operating system and drivers. One of the machines will be used at the motor department for treatment of large motor parts. This is a high-precision machine, so the support mount is being made very carefully. The other unit will head for the welding department, where the first steering clutch casing will be made as soon as in May. ‘The plant expects to increase its

May 25, 2015. Bank Koltso Urala’s analysts report the demand for loan refinancing went up in the second quarter of 2015, the bank’s press service says. According to the bank’s Standard Loan Products Director Natalya Golubeva, now as customers keep trying to cut down on their expenses the trend for merging several expensive loans from different banks (credit cards, car loans, consumer loans, etc) into one continues. ‘Bank Koltso Urala started refinancing other banks’ loans relatively recently, but we can already do a statistical analysis of a typical customer for the service. These people are

May 25, 2015. 985,600 m2 worth of new housing got commissioned in Sverdlovsk Region in January-April 2015, Sverdlovskstat reports. 551,400 m2 (55.9%) pertain to private construction; this figure is twice as big as the one registered last year.

May 25, 2015. Sverdlovsk Region division of Rospotrebadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) examined 226 items of furniture sold locally. It was determined that 81 items (35.8% of the total amount) were not sold properly in terms of trading legislation, the division’s press service reports. Mainly, trading regulations were violated in that no documents could be provided to prove that the item on sale met all the standards; in some cases, furniture items were sold without labels, without price tags, and without any necessary and accurate information. Besides, sellers’ purchase and sale

May 22, 2015. There are currently about 7,000 people living in Sverdlovsk Region whose debts amount to more than 500,000 RUR, Nikolai Sergeyev of Federal Tax Service’s Sverdlovsk Region division said at the local Public Chamber meeting. ‘The figures were provided by court officers. Some of these people might apply for personal bankruptcy in order to get rid of some of their debts. I believe the personal bankruptcy law per se is imperfect. It is a complicated, costly, and cumbersome procedure,’ Sergeyev said. The personal bankruptcy law comes into effect in Russia on July 1 and will allow

May 22, 2015. The construction jobs at Bogoslovsky Technological Park came to a halt because no funds are coming in from Sverdlovsk Region’s budget, Kommersant refers to head of the park’s management company Yuri Myakishev as saying. ‘No commissioning date can be set as of yet,’ he explained. He admitted this was the reason why some of the park’s potential residents, for example, MRSK Urala and TechMash Group, refused to consider settling there. MRSK Urala confirmed the fact that the company had been considering Bogoslovsky as a possible site for a cable-manufacturing facility (which would

May 22, 2015. Oblkommunenergo completed the heating season of 2014-2015 and is now getting ready for the next fall/winter season, the company’s press service reports. ‘We have already done hydraulic tests of the mains and the boiling equipment in some territories and nearly completed these tests in others. Starting on May 25, our experts will conduct offsite meetings on the premises of local enterprises to do an in-depth analysis of the current state of events and make possible adjustments to their summertime repair plans,’ the press service says. Oblkommunenergo’s Director-General Dmitri

May 22, 2015. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development won the respective tender and will be paying out insolvent Plato-Bank’s debts, the state-run Deposit Insurance Agency’s website states. Applications can be submitted and payments will be expected starting from May 25. More information will be available on the UBRD and Deposit Insurance Agency’s websites on May 22. Russia’s Central Bank annulled Plato-Bank’s license on May 13, 2015. The bank is now being supervised by a trustee in bankruptcy. The bank had accumulated 740m RUR worth of (insured) private individuals’ deposits by

May 22, 2015. Volchansk Mechanical Plant (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) produced its first pair of special-purpose insulated containers 23-5165-01 meant for transportation of as-cast billets, the corporation’s press service reports. The containers were developed by Ural Carriage-Building Design Office by order of an Urals-based enterprise. ‘This railway vehicle variety is meant for transportation of as-cast billets on a plant’s railway siding and is designed as a platform with five support beams for placing four billets and a removable heat-reflecting lid there. The

May 21, 2015. A new turbo blowing engine was recently launched at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) steam blowing power station. ‘Turbo Blowing Engine 8 with a new turbine was launched at the station upon the completion of all the tests and start-up and commissioning jobs in May 2015. Fitted with new equipment, the machine will both ensure unfailing performance of the plant’s most powerful blast furnaces 9 and 10 throughout the year and reduce our energy costs. For one, steam consumption will go down by 10% to 15%, which will result in up to 10,000 kg less of steam per hour (that is,

May 21, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s head plant is getting busy with its summertime overhauls. This year, the focus is on reinforcing the framework of all the buildings on site, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘The plan is to repair the roofs of the plant’s metallurgical, mechanical assembly, and carriage assembly departments (total work area 30,000 m2) as well as to replace 6,000 m2 worth of an emergency layer made of armored concrete and wooden slabs and profiled sheeting at several other departments. 140m RUR will be directed to roof and layer renovation,’ the press service

May 21, 2015. Bank Koltso Urala’s customers are now using their e-banking options twice as often as before to put more money into their deposit accounts: the number of internal bank transfers rose by 150% in the last twelve months, the bank’s press service reports. The number of Koltso Urala’s e-banking users also went up quite noticeably in the last year, as seen from statistical data collected by analysts from the bank’s Payment System & Plastic Card Department in the first quarter of 2015. ‘About 40% of the bank’s cardholders who subscribe to its e-banking services actually use these

May 21, 2015. Soyuz Energoeffektivnost, a non-governmental, non-commercial partnership, met with potential partners from Green Building Alliance, a company which promotes environmentally friendly construction and energy efficient upgrades of buildings in Western Pennsylvania. The two companies are both non-profit organizations with essentially similar tasks of shaping new markets and increasing all the interested parties’ awareness of the benefits and potential of energy efficient and green technologies. The alliance members, two of whom are LEED certified building designers, shared their

May 21, 2015. Ural Railway Carriage Design Office/UKBV (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) coordinated a scientific conference on innovative design solutions and developments in the carriage-building to celebrate the office’s 80th anniversary, the corporation’s press service reports. The primary focus of the conference was on the scientific and technological aspects of developing the machine-building industry and heavy-weight carriage-building. For two days, presenters made reports on a wide range of topics from the latest technical solutions to development of innovative cars.

May 21, 2015. Metcombank joined Visa’s special offer. According to the bank’s press service, customers need to use their Visa card to pay for at least 300 RUR worth of purchases between June 15 and September 15, 2015. ‘Every transaction competes in a lottery: the winning transaction’s amount goes back to the cardholder’s account, and every card can take part in the prize-drawing an unlimited number of times. There are going to be over 6,000 winners altogether,’ the press service says. For more information, please go to Metcombank’s website www.metcom.ru and Visa’s www.visa.com.ru.

May 20, 2015. Ural Railway Carriage Design Office/UKBV (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) coordinated a scientific conference on innovative design solutions and developments in the carriage-building to celebrate the office’s 80th anniversary, the corporation’s press service reports. The primary focus of the conference was on the scientific and technological aspects of developing the machine-building industry and heavy-weight carriage-building. For two days, presenters made reports on a wide range of topics from the latest technical solutions to development of innovative cars.

May 20, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation is now the official partner of a super heavyweight boxing match between Russia’s Alexander Povetkin and Cuba’s Mike Perez at Moscow Luzhniki Stadium on May 22, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘Alexander Povetkin is planning to join the elite champions’ club. In order to become the official WBC candidate, the Russian boxer absolutely must beat the Cuban, Mike Perez. The two super heavyweights’ match is going to become the main feature of the day. Povetkin is No.1 in the WBC rating, Perez is No.2. The Russian sports player has won 28 matches