OREANDA-NEWS. On July 16, 2007 UC RUSAL, the world’s largest producer of aluminium and alumina, announced the launch of a new branch of Industrial Park Siberia in the town of Ukhta, reported the press-centre of UC RUSAL.

The new plant will supply metal structures for the ongoing construction of a bauxite and alumina complex within the Komi Aluminium project. The plant is expected to produce about 51,000 tonnes of products worth over USD 100 mln.

The metalware plant will be launched with the technical and advisory support of Storvik, a Norwegian company. The production site, located in the town of Ukhta, will cover 70,000 square meters and will have developed infrastructure and communications. The first batch of metal is expected to be produced in November 2007.

‘The establishment of a metalware production site in the Komi Republic is a logical continuation of our project to produce the equipment and hardware required by our aluminium and alumina projects currently under construction’, said Valery Matvienko, UC RUSAL’s Director of the Engineering and Construction Division. ‘By creating partnerships with leading Western corporations we are able to secure access to the best production technologies. Furthermore, by locating production sites in the vicinity of new projects in Russia, we can manufacture products customised to our needs and achieve significant time and cost savings’.

Industrial Park Siberia was launched by RUSAL in 2004 in Krasnoyarsk.  It was set up to develop production and maintenance capacities for the company’s main processing equipment, required by the aluminium smelters and alumina refineries. The industrial park’s infrastructure includes fully-equipped premises and community facilities. The companies working in the industrial park were promised assistance from RUSAL in their relations with local authorities, the registration of entities in Russia and recruitment services. The participation of producers in the project will reduce the cost of equipment production by 20-30%.

The opening of the Ukhta branch represents a new stage in Industrial Park Siberia’s development. Today, the project can do more than just render production-related services to foreign companies; it is now able to arrange the manufacturing of products required by United Company RUSAL.