February 5, 2015. Yekaterinburg Chkalovsky Court officers collected over 2m RUR from Uralkhimmash, a chemical plant, to the benefit of the enterprise’s contractors, Sverdlovsk Region division of the Federal Service of Court Officers’ press service reports. ‘Two enforcement proceedings on the collection of debt from Uralkhimmash to the benefit of Technoservice and Sibirenergoengineering have been completed. The plant owed 711,170 RUR to the former (having failed to pay the royalties on suction filter sales, and 1.5m RUR to the latter (having failed to deliver the goods within the contract

February 5, 2015. Eleven promising industrial sites were placed on the industrial parks register, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department reports. The register now comprises four Sverdlovsk Region-based banks: Tagil Chemical Park, Sinara Park, Berezovsky Park, and Pro Business Park. The parks’ management teams are working hard to attract new residents. Tagil Chemical Park and Pro Business Park are members of the Industrial Parks Association. Cooperation agreements were signed by the Mid-Urals Development Corporation and the management companies of Tagil Chemical Park,

February 5, 2015. Supply keeps going down by over 1% a week on Yekaterinburg existing homes market, Ural Chamber of Real Estate reports. The number of homes available for sale in the Chamber’s database dropped by 22.5% and comes to 7,800 at the moment (compared with nearly 10,100 in late October). The number of rooms in communal apartments plummeted by as many as 32% (from 1,800 down to 1,220). Prices kept fluctuating noticeably throughout January: the city’s average price rose by 0.6% in the last four weeks. As of February 2, the average asking price on Yekaterinburg existing homes market

February 4, 2015. Plant 9 (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) opened a modern canteen, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘Engineers, designers, and technicians now won’t have to go to another building for lunch: the new canteen has enough room to provide meals for forty people simultaneously and for up to one hundred and fifty workers throughout the lunch hours,’ the press service says. OOO Electromechanomontazh was chosen as the contractor for the refurbishing project in the course of an auction. The plant’s employees took care of the engineering infrastructure:

February 4, 2015. Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK) and Gazprom Neft signed a technological partnership agreement for 2015-2017, TMK press service reports. ‘Our company has been doing business with Gazprom Neft successfully for a while now: we supply pipes for oil production and transportation, including pipes with premium threaded joints. The two companies have been working on their scientific and technical cooperation program since 2013. We have come to understand that TMK’s production capacity, its product range, and scientific and technological potential as well as the geographical

February 4, 2015. Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK) was qualified by Missan Oil Company as an approved supplier of OCTGs made of Russian materials, TMK press service reports. Missan Oil Company (MOC) is one of Iraq’s largest oil companies. Getting qualified means TMK is eligible to make its bids in the company’s auctions for the supply of OCTGs for oil production projects in Iraq. The list of qualified goods includes threaded, casing, and tubing varieties of OCTGs as well as pipeline tubing. The qualification was preceded by an audit of TMK enterprises. To assess TMK production capacity, MOC

February 4, 2015. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development proved one of Russia’s 35 largest banks, according to Interfax CEA. The bank’s assets exceeded 235bn RUR: the figure rose by 17.7% throughout last year alone, the bank’s press service reports. The UBRD also came first in the ranking of thirty-four Ural Federal District-based banks (there were 776 banks on the nation-wide list altogether). In terms of private individuals’ investments and deposits, the UBRD, with its 98.6bn RUR, was among Russia’s 25 largest banks. In 2014, the volume of private individuals’ money deposited

February 4, 2015. MegaFon recently expanded the range of Login smartphones it offers to customers. On February 1, the mobile carrier started selling MegaFon Login+, a phablet that combines the best properties of a smartphone and a tablet computer. The new gadget is available for the price of 4,990 RUR – the best price in the phablet category, the company’s press service reports. The best thing about the new phablet is the large, 5.5” screen (quite suitable for Internet surfing, watching videos, and reading e-books). Unlike a tablet computer, this device is rather compact (15.5x7.5 cm), which

February 3, 2015. The Titanium Valley Special Economic Zone received the necessary approval from Sverdlovsk Region government expert board to put up an aircraft parts production facility within the zone, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department reports. The plant is expected to be launched by the end of the year; the costs of the project are estimated at 1.1bn RUR. The goal is to increase the production output and introduce deeper-level processing of titanium products in order to come up with virtually ready-made aircraft parts. The Valley received a 650-million-ruble

February 3, 2015. The construction of Nevyansk Poultry Factory came to a standstill in September 2014 due to economic difficulties, states a letter that was written in response to Sverdlovsk Region Legislative Assembly Deputy Andrei Alshevskikh and signed by Sverdlovsk Region Prime Minister Denis Pasler. According to this letter, the project has required 128m RUR worth of investments altogether, with no funding provided from the constituency’s budget resources. ‘Nevyansk Council let Nevyansk Poultry Factory seven construction sites for 2014-2017; two sites are owned by the enterprise itself,’

February 3, 2015. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development won the grand-prix as the Best Bank 2014; the contest was coordinated by BankInformService, the bank’s press service reports. The bank also won in the Popular Deposits 2014 category, as its deposit offers enjoyed great demand last year. The UBRD was also among the top three nominees in two more categories; the bank came second in the Popular Loans 2014 category and third in the PR Index category (a bank’s PR index is based on its spokespeople’s activity throughout the year). Winners were selected on the basis of

February 3, 2015. A ferroconcrete chimney stack collapsed at Bogoslovsky heat and power station (a member enterprise of United Company RUSAL) the other night. Sverdlovsk Region division of the Emergency Ministry’s press service reports the rescue team was informed of the accident at 8:40 PM on February 1; no casualties were involved. The residents of Krasnoturinsk receive their heating and electric power as usual; Bogoslovsky smelter is operating in the normal mode,’ the press service says. The Emergency Ministry’s rescue team, the city council representatives, and the station’s management

February 3, 2015. Two bulldozers made at ChTZ Uraltrac (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation), namely, DET400M and B14, are going to join the emergency train vehicles parade. The corporation’s press service says the two bulldozers’ capacities will be demonstrated to railway workers at a practice ground near Tula, where Russian Railways Emergency Monitoring & Coordination Center will conduct an experience-sharing workshop on February 17-19. ChTZ is getting its vehicles ready for the demonstrations, so as to send them to the destination point (the base of Moscow Railways

February 2, 2015. Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev gave out awards to winners of Russian Government Quality Prize. In 2014, ten Russian companies, including Uralvagonzavod Corporation, were awarded the prize. ‘All of the winners have impressive product quality indicators, continually increase their production output and investment and spend increasingly less time on mastering new product types. Dmitri Medvedev pointed out that all the winners had one thing in common: they proved to be highly efficient businesses with high-level professionals as well as very well performing companies,’

February 2, 2015. Ural Federal University, TVEL, Rosatom Corporation, and Moscow Region-based IRE-Polus are going to work together on the development of Russian 3D printer, Director of UFU Engineering Center Alexei Fefelov says. According to the university’s press service, a trial sample of the 3D printer (an additive device for selective laser surface alloying of metallic powders) will be complete as soon as this year. A trial device for making metallic powders will also be presented in 2015. ‘Russia has never made such devices before, there are only several scores of them in use throughout

February 2, 2015. Wolke, a 5D play for the visually impaired children, was shown in Yekaterinburg for the first time this winter. Children from a special needs school in Verkhnyaya Pyshma were able to visit the ‘invisible play’ as part of the national charity project supported by MegaFon, the telecommunications provider’s press service reports. Actors from Moscow-based M.A. Bulgakov theater presented their unique play to the children: the piece is unique in that it relies on audio, kinesthetic, and olfactory messages rather than the visual ones. ‘We created a play that can only be watched

February 2, 2015. Oblkommunenergo’s Director-General Dmitri Budanov became a member of Sverdlovsk Region Community Board on Housing. The opinion of the expert, who runs the local communal housing services and utilities enterprise, will be considered in making decisions relating to the heat and power suppliers’ performance, Oblkommunenergo’s press service reports. The decree on the changes in the composition of the board was signed by Sverdlovsk Region Housing Administration Alexei Rassolov. Now the community board was set up in 2012 in order to ensure interaction with and feedback from

February 2, 2015. The winners of the 11th Interbank Amateur Olympics received their awards from Yekaterinburg Council on January 30. Bank Koltso Urala’s team came second in terms of the overall score: they were the best in ski racing, darts, volleyball, ping pong, football, street-ball, shooting sports, and bawling. Seventeen banks’ teams took part in the local amateur Olympics last year altogether, the bank’s press service reports. ‘Bank Koltso Urala’s employees have been taking part in the interbank competitions for five years now, and they have never failed to end up among the top five

January 30, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s head plant in Nizhniy Tagil put two hydraulic presses (800,000-kg one and a 5,500,000-kg one) into operation. The presses are meant for bending and molding of parts. The corporation’s press service reports all the installation and start-up jobs were done by experts from Russian companies; this was, in a way, a rehearsal of mastering new products such as the innovative gondola cars 12-196-01. The presses were under upgrades for the entire year 2014, with no production stoppages. Most of the jobs were completed by Chelyabinsk-based Komponent, which

January 30, 2015. ChTPZ Group’s Training Center was given the status of WorldSkills Russia’s Specialized Center; it will now be used for training contestants for the professional skills championships. The decision, which is part of the strategy to develop Ural Engineering School, was made by Sverdlovsk Region Education Ministry. Contestants will train in four fields: Mechatronics, Mobile Robotic Science, Numerically Controlled Turn/Mill Operation, and Welding, the Group’s press service reports. The Center’s primary task is to ensure the teams are ready to compete in