OREANDA-NEWS. April 01, 2014. Plans have been made to fully substitute the import of hydraulic equipment with domestic products within three years. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko was informed about the plans as he visited the Dzerzhinsk-based hydraulics manufacturer Saleo.

The head of state was told that the company uses premises of the Dzerzhinsk engine repairs factory. The company was founded by Interservice and PMI Engineering. The new owners are busy implementing a two-stage investment project to manufacture hydraulic equipment. In October 2013 the company started batch manufacturing import-substituting products and has reached the designed output capacity since.

Alexander Shakutin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amkodor, the managing company of the holding company Amkodor, underlined that the enterprise had managed to reach the designed output capacity within only six months while similar enterprises in Western countries may take up to two years to do the same.

The second stage of the project is scheduled for implementation in 2014. The relevant investment contract with the Minsk Oblast administration has been signed. As many as 28 units of equipment worth a total of \\$21.3 million will be delivered. They will allow greatly increasing the volume and the choice of manufactured products. The manufacturing efficiency will once again exceed that of similar enterprises in other countries.

The main customers of the products the company manufactures are Belarusian mechanical engineering enterprises that had to import the equipment up till now. This is why the chief production engineer of Minsk Tractor Works and the chief designer of MAZ, the managing company of the holding company BelavtoMAZ, have been invited to attend the event. They confirmed that the products made by the Dzerzhinsk-based company are on par with the world standards and meet the quality requirements of the Belarusian manufacturers. The human factor that can influence quality has been virtually ruled out, with hardware failure rates less than 0.1%.
Alexander Shakutin also remarked that in addition to its high quality the equipment is 30-40% cheaper than imports. Moreover, the founders of Saleo are busy setting up a major holding company to make hydraulic equipment for the Belarusian mechanical engineering. The holding company will unite several enterprises in various regions of Belarus and will be able to fully substitute the import of hydraulic machines within three years. It will fully satisfy the demand of Belarusian mechanical engineering companies for high-quality modern components. Besides, the company plans to export about 40% of the output.

Alexander Shakutin said that the total volume of investments will exceed USD200 million, with the recoupment period as short as five years.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko was made familiar with the process the company uses to manufacture modern hydraulic equipment, toured the manufacturing premises and examined an exhibition of current and future products. The head of state also talked to representatives of OOO Saleo personnel. “It would have been impossible without you. You have built the factory very fast,” the President told the workers.

The head of state underlined the import-substituting effect of the new enterprise, which will allow saving considerable amounts of foreign currency. “An entire holding company, an industrial group will operate using the highest standards. We will not leave the favor unanswered if you deliver on your promise,” said the head of state.

“What I can see is absolutely no different from the world’s best products. It is truly a world level. Well done! It is what we need today,” added the President.

While touring the enterprise Alexander Lukashenko also drew attention to the development of Minsk’s satellite towns, including Dzerzhinsk. “The town will be home to large-scale manufacturing. Minsk will not be expanded. We will build things in the satellite towns and naturally people will flow here,” he said.

The head of state pointed out that for the sake of clearer understanding of the prospects it may be a good idea to put together a general layout for Dzerzhinsk’s development.

During the working visit of the Belarus President to Minsk Oblast the overall social and economic development of the region and the progress of the spring sowing campaign were also discussed. Alexander Lukashenko was interested in the effective operation of Minsk Oblast enterprises and the efforts to reduce the stock in storage.

Minsk Oblast Governor Semyon Shapiro informed the President about the work in agriculture and existing problems in detail. Alexander Lukashenko warned: “Bear in mind that nobody is going to shell out money the way it was done in previous years. Money will be available only for the projects that the state is interested in. And not only due to the current situation in the world. Start working and calculating costs. Everything you can make, you can sell and divide profits. Think about how you will earn your living but only at your own expense”.