OREANDA-NEWS. August 11, 2010. The first branch of Grinatom CJSC – Multi-Function Common Service Center of Rosatom State Corporation (MF CSC) was opened in Novosibirsk. Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, a part of TVEL Fuel Company, became the branch’s first client. For purposes of the efficiency enhancement and cost reduction program, NCCP planned to outsource several services, including IT support and local telephone communication. Following an analysis, the management of TVEL OJSC proposed to hand these functions over to Grinatom CJSC. Transfer of one of the largest enterprises of the Fuel Company (FC) for servicing to the MF CSC is a substantial part of endeavors on the company’s efficiency and competitiveness enhancement, which are implemented within Financial and Economic Block and IT Transformation, and New Look Programs. Cooperation with Grinatom is very important for TVEL OJSC in social sense as well, as the former employees of the IT departments of NCCP have transferred to the branch of a potent, rapidly developing company. The Common Service Center shall provide complex IT services to NCCP and its four affiliates: from customer support and IT infrastructure of the plant and to the local telephone connection (Grinatom CJSC became a federal telephone service provider in July). Total number of customers serviced by the MF CSC shall be 1800. Vladimir Rozhkov, General Director of NCCP OJSC, said: “In the nearest future we are expecting an improvement in the quality of IT support and reduction of the enterprise’s expenses for IT servicing due to the transfer for servicing to the MF CSC.” Subsequently, the other nuclear industry enterprises, located in the region, are planned to be transferred to the MF CSC for servicing. Mikhail Ermolaev, General Director of the MF CSC, noted: “We are planning to open branches in other regions with the nuclear industry enterprises, upon transfer of the regional enterprises for servicing to the MF CSC”. For reference: Common Service Center of Rosatom State Corporation was set up on the base of Grinatom CJSC (100% affiliate of Atomenergoprom OJSC) by the decision of the Board of 06.10.2009. The main purpose of setting up of the MF CSC is efficiency enhancement of accounting and IT functions of the industry’s enterprises. The Common Service Center model has become wide spread in the world since 1990s, when development of the informational technologies allowed remote solving of the most of an enterprise’s accounting and IT issues. Nowadays, a lot of world’s leading companies, including those with state participation, use Common Service Centers: NASA, Boeing, EDF, BHP Billiton etc. The Common Service Centers appeared in Russia in 2000s; TNK-BP, Lukoil and SUEK were the first to set up their own centers. In 2010 Rosatom State Corporation, Atomenergoprom, Informational Center of the State Republican Center; Separation and Sublimation Complex Integrated Company; Unified Customer Direction, Housing Maintenance Office and Atom-Service transferred for servicing to the MF CSC besides NCCP OJSC. The number of enterprises, serviced by the MF CSC, will have reached 24 before the end of the year. Nowadays, NCCP OJSC is a part of TVEL Fuel Company (www.tvel.ru), the principal activity of which is development, production and sale (including exporting) of nuclear fuel, and related nuclear and non-nuclear products. The purpose of setting up of the Fuel Company is forming of an optimal structure of management of nuclear fuel cycle enterprises in order to enhance the production efficiency and competitiveness on the global market. On the first stage the Fuel Company shall consolidate enterprises for production of gas centrifuge, separation and sublimation plants, and fuel fabrication plants.