OREANDA-NEWS. On 30 January 2008 it was announced, that Hongri Acron Chairman of the Board of Directors Dmitry Golubkov was named the Person of the Year in Linyi (People’s Republic of China). For the first time ever, this title of honour was conferred to a foreigner, leading a joint venture.

Acron was the first foreign company in China that established in 2002 Hongri Acron joint venture to produce mineral fertilisers. Hongri Acron’s success story is unique. According to the statistic data, most joint ventures in China fail to operate efficiently. Unlike them, within five years Acron led its joint venture to a considerable economic progress, recognised by the state government. In particular, new production facilities were constructed, profit increased, revenues grew almost four times to USD 450 million in 2007.

“It took our company some time to achieve success,” Dmitry Golubkov said. “It was not easy to build relations between Russian and Chinese experts, adaptation went hard. Eventually we proved that Acron was a serious investor, honest and reliable partner, meeting its obligations.”

Chinese authorities recognised Hongri Acron’s successful operation twice, presenting it with two honourary awards. At the end of 2007 Mayor of Linyi Zhang Shaojun awarded Dmitry Golubkov with the Certificate conferring him the title of “Honourable citizen of the city,” and in January 2008 Hongri Acron’s Chairman received another title of honour – “Person of the Year.”

Linyi is the largest industrial centre in China with the population exceeding 11 million people.