OREANDA-NEWS. October 30, 2007. There was a celebration in Novosibirsk club “Otdykh” dedicated to the 15th anniversary of SibCOTES (a member of E4 Group). The staff of the Company gathered for the celebration of the milestone anniversary – 600 employees from Novosibirsk, and the Offices in Tomsk, Barnaul, Irkutsk, Ural, and Kransnoyarsk. The representatives of the Novosibirsk Regional Administration and partners from different regions of Russia and overseas were in attendance to congratulate the Company. Many words of gratitude were expressed to the specialists of the Company on the occasion. Special Diplomas and valuable gifts were also presented.

The Novosibirsk Regional Administration presented a Special Diploma to the staff of SibCOTES, and personally to Mr. Felix Serant, Deputy General Director for Development and the founder of the Company. The certificate praised the valuable contribution to power industry development in the region, for engineering, commissioning and testing of equipment at large power facilities. 

Mr. Victor Dobrelya, Director for Construction, spoke warm words addressed to the jubilee company on behalf of the General Director of  Novosibirskenergo. Since 2006, SibCOTES has been the General Designer for the utility Novosibirskenergo. In his complimentary speech Mr. Victor Dobrelya noted that the investment program of Novosibirskenergo is successfully implemented today, thanks to the efficient work of the Company, which allows them to be optimistic about the future growth of the power industry in Russia.

The Company was also awarded a Letter of Gratitude for its professional work on the Seversk Project for Plutonium Production Elimination. In Seversk, specialists from SibCOTES together with its foreign partners fulfill start-up and commissioning works for power equipment at a CHP plant owned by Siberian Chemical Association. Responding to this, the specialists of the Company handed over souvenir-steles to their partners.

Closed joint-stock company SibCOTES was founded in 1992. “It was the time when industrial companies and power utilities of the country were actually left idle. Professional people went into various trades, where salaries were several times higher,” recalls the founder of SibCOTES Feliks Serant, “But the Western countries continued their active modernization of energy facilities, and there was a great demand for design and commissioning work. However, foreign Customers were interested in turn-key projects. So we decided to unite process engineers from Podolsk Machine-Building Plant and Novosibirsk specialists, into one multi-discipline engineering company - SibCOTES. Since that time one of the main objectives of the Company is to keep up with the times.”

Initially, the Company specialized in commissioning of large energy equipment. Later SibCOTES significantly expanded the range of its capabilities. The reconstruction of two power units -150 MW each - at thermal power plant Tunchbilek in Turkey, became the first major project implemented by SibCOTES. SibCOTES participated as a Subcontractor to Ansaldo, Italy, together with the representatives of companies from eight countries. Mr. Dmitry Serant, General Director of SibCOTES, as a direct participant of the project, shared his memories with the attendees: “It was the first project management school for us. We learned many things from our own experience. Things, that today the engineering specialists can learn using textbooks or attending appropriate workshops. Being there, for the first time, we came to know about bidding and tenders, and how they work. The result of our work was positive. Everyone was awarded a diploma and a medal. It was the first time that Ansaldo had worked with Russian specialists. Previously, engineering practices in our country were considered to be backward, compared to engineering practices in Germany, Italy or the USA. But the successful implementation of the work allowed our Company to get invaluable experience, and establish a reputation as a highly-qualified engineering company. Later, foreign Customers again and again invited us to implement projects in Chile, Mongolia, India, and other countries.”

The specialists of the Company have developed a number of technological innovations, the most important and impressive of which is the Circular Furnace Boiler. Design works were conducted within the framework of the Construction of a Complex of Electric Power Stations in the Krasnoyarsk Region. To build large 800 MW power units for thermal power plants, it was required to develop new solutions, which would reduce the overall dimensions of energy equipment. Based on the designs prepared by the specialists from SibCOTES, a pilot boiler was built, which successfully passed all the tests required. In 1998, the circular furnace boiler with 820 t/h steaming capacity went online at Novo-Irkutskaya CHP plant (Irkutsk). Since that time it has been successfully operating there. The boiler’s dimensions are not large, and it is designed to fire Kansko-Achinsky and Kuznetsky coals which are widely used all over the world. This innovation opens up broad possibilities for its further application on a global basis. In 2001, the Technical Committee of RAO UES of Russia recommended its use as a boiler for Russian power stations.  

Today the Company fulfills numerous projects in different regions of Russia; in many projects, foreign companies are our partners. We currently are implementing a project together with Pцyry Energy Oy, Finland for the construction of two power units - 225 MW each - with CFB boilers at Cherepetskaya power plant. At present, the Company is designing the fuel handling system and the steam boilers within the Program for the Plutonium Production Elimination at reactor ADE-2, and the construction of substitute sources at CHP in Zheleznogorsk. These projects are being conducted within the framework of an Intergovernmental Agreement between the Russian Ministry of Nuclear Energy and the US Department of Energy.

Several projects are also being implemented under an Investment Program of RAO UES of Russia. The Development Strategy for Kolymaenergo and Magadanenergo utilities is currently under study. In September, we started the work on a project for the power industry development in the South of Prymorsky Krai. We are preparing several Pre-Feasibility Studies for the construction of new generating sources within the Mechanism of Guaranteed Investments. We have already completed similar work for Severskaya power plant and Kuznetskaya CHP plant.

Recently we have signed an EPC contract with TGK-2 for switching Arkhangelskaya CHP plant from oil firing to coal firing. The possibility to build several combined-cycle plants with a higher efficiency compared to conventional gas boilers is under consideration. 

According to Mr. Dmitry Serant, "the Company is constantly striving for development and improvement. World innovations and in-house engineering innovations are actively applied, which allows us to improve efficiency and make electricity production more environmentally friendly. It is a necessary condition if you want to be a step ahead of your competitors in the quality of services and the level of technologies."

The next ten years will definitely be revolutionary for the power industry in Russia and overseas. The engineering, commissioning and start-up specialists at SibCOTES are prepared to take up the challenge. Wide experience, current knowledge and leading technologies have been integrated within the company. In 2006, SibCOTES became a member of E4 Group, the largest Russian EPC Contractor, which unites engineering companies in Russia and overseas. Nowadays, more than 17,000 people are employed within the Holding Company, which implements projects for large power constructions on a turn-key basis.

In 2007, according to a well-know publication Engineering News-Record, SibCOTES was the only Russian company included in the Top 200 International Design Firm Listing for foreign markets.