OREANDA-NEWS. The subsidiary of Atomenergomash OJSC, Intelenergomash, has bought 51% stake in Arako Ltd (Opava, the Czech Republic), the leading Eastern European manufacturer of pipeline fittings for nuclear and traditional power plants and oil and gas sector. On The owner of the controlling interest in Arako, the director general of the company Zdenek Mitas and the director general of Intelenergomash Andrey Sleptsov signed a relevant contract in Prague on Oct 26 2007.

Atomenergomash paid 7.5mln EUR for the stake.

“This plant has been our constant partner and now it has officially joined the Rosatom system,” says Kirill Komarov, the director general of Atomenergomash. Arako has very good valves and other small-diameter pipeline fittings. The company’s products are being used by Atomstroyexport under its ongoing NPP construction projects in China, India, Iran and Bulgaria. Arako’s fittings are used by all Russian NPPs and many nuclear power plants in Eastern Europe. Now that Arako has joined Atomenergomash, it will be able to get up to 50% of the Russian market of small-diameter pipeline fittings. Presently, the annual turnover of that market is estimated at $50mln-$100mln, but now that Russia is planning a large-scale NPP construction experts say that in the next five years this figure may grow to as much as $220mln.

Arako will preserve its contracts with the oil, gas, oil refining and chemical industries. Atomenergomash is going to follow the example of the world’s leading machine builders and to actively use the policy of outsourcing. “We seek to concentrate the best productions in our holding and Arako’s products are much better than the Russian ones. Arako will also benefit from joining our holding: it will get guaranteed contracts for many years ahead,” says Komarov.

Arako spol. s.r.o. is situated in Opava, north-east of the Czech Republic. Since 1970 Arako has produced pipeline fittings for nuclear power plants. In 1995 the company was granted ISO 9001.

Arako company was established in 1992 as a result of the privatization of Minerva plant. In 2002–2006 the company spent 8% of its income on production. Now Arako is one of the best-equipped plants in Eastern Europe. In 2006 the company’s output totaled ?7.3mln, with half of the products supplied to nuclear power plants in Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The key consumers of Arako products are Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Ukraine and Poland.

The plant has enough capacities to produce fittings for one NPP-2006 unit a year (according to its federal target program, in 2010 Russia will start launching two NPP construction projects a year, in 2015 – four projects a year). Now Arako operates at 40%-60% of its capacity.

75% of Intelenergomash belongs to Atomenergomash (25% to Russian Fuel and Mining Company). This year Intelenergomash made contracts for the supply of fittings and pumps worth 20mln EUR, in 2008 it is planning to make contracts worth 80mln EUR. In the next two years the company is planning to invest 55mln EUR in the production of fittings. Arako is not the company’s last purchase: next year Intelenergomash is planning to consolidate a number of Russian power machinery producers and to enter into joint ventures with world leading companies. In the next five years Intelenergomash is planning to produce no less than 50% of pipeline fittings and pumps for nuclear power plants as well as to manufacture equipment for traditional power industry and oil and gas sector.

Atomenergomash holding produces equipment for nuclear power plants. It comprises EMAlliance-Atom, ZiO-Podolsk, Ziomar, Alstom Atomenergomash, Intelenergomash, Stalenergoproekt and other companies. Atomenergomash is subsidiary of TVEL OJSC, which is part of Atomenergoprom holding.