Russia's Ulyanovsk Oblast delegation on visit to Belarus

Minsk and Ulyanovsk Oblast have built and maintain close contacts. The ongoing visit was scheduled at the meeting of Minsk Mayor Vladimir Kukharev with Ulyanovsk Oblast Governor Alexei Russkikh on the sidelines of the 10th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia in Ufa. The delegation plans to visit Brest and has a busy program in Minsk where it will tour enterprises and cultural facilities. Yet, the first event of the four-day visit was a tour of the China-Belarus Industrial Park Great Stone where the delegation was shown a shut-off valve with an electric drive made by Dimitrovgrad-based PromServis and Minsk-based KPSR Group. The two companies have plans to jointly produce this product.

The parties reached an agreement that the product will be made both in Minsk and Ulyanovsk. The Belarusian company will manufacture the valve (control valve), while the Dimitrovgrad company will provide electronic control (make an electric drive to the valve). The companies will then exchange components and do the final assembly of the product at their premises. The new valve will be used in the housing and utility services sector and will allow automating technological processes and heat and water supply systems, replacing imported products. The companies plan to produce 2,000 items in 2024. The partnership agreement was signed by PromServis Director General Yaroslav Minakov and Director and Founder of KPSR Group Dmitry Sergeyev.

“Our company has been working on the market of energy saving and energy measuring equipment for about 30 years. Some time ago we discovered that quite a lot of drives were made in Russia, but they were all meant for large technological devices in the manufacturing industry and energy sector, while there were very few small devices, if any, for the housing and utility services sector. Russia had to import them. We decided to take up this niche and a couple of years ago we released our electric drive in several modifications,” said Yaroslav Minakov.

In less than two years, the Belarusian company managed to completely localize the production of this product, dropping Polish and Chinese castings and imported metals. According to Dmitry Sergeyev, 100% of the product is manufactured within the Customs Union. “In the future, we will be able to produce about 70,000-80,000 items per year. We have room for growth. We hope that our product will be in great demand in Belarus and Russia,” he noted.

After a brief presentation of the shut-off valve and the signing of a partnership agreement, a memorandum of cooperation was concluded between the China-Belarus Industrial Park Great Stone and the Port Special Economic Zone Ulyanovsk. The parties will step up industrial and economic interaction, cooperate in developing and implementing investment projects on their territories and assist each other in establishing business contacts and promoting relations between Belarus and Ulyanovsk Oblast.

The China-Belarus Industrial Park Great Stone is always interested in expanding interaction with other economic zones. Territories with a special legal regime are doing very well in Russia. They differ in many ways but have common goals - to promote cooperation and create new opportunties for business. With this in mind, it is important to forge collaborations and look for new points of growth. The agreement is a step towards closer cooperation. The park administration is eager to establish long-term partnerships and is ready to cooperate on all issues. If we move forward together, results will not be long in coming,” Head of the administration of the China-Belarus Industrial Park Great Stone Aleksandr Yaroshenko said.