MOGILEV, 10 March (BelTA) - Timely modernization keeps manufacturers on the competitive edge, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Nazarov said as he visited Mogilevkhimvolokno on 10 March, BelTA has learned.
During the visit, the deputy prime minister got familiar with the technological processes and the status of the investment project "Manufacture of polyester products."
"During the meeting, we discussed the future of Mogilevkhimvolokno rather than big issues of the petrochemical industry. We have two projects. I think they are long overdue. Today we made a final decision to launch a project to produce technical threads at the Mogilev plant. We thoroughly analyzed the old production: large and unused premises. Soon they will be turned into a compact and modern manufacture,” he noted. “This project is good and timely, and will help Mogilevkhimvolokno optimize expenses: product costs will be almost halved, which will make products more competitive.”
According to Mogilevkhimvolokno Director General Piotr Rudnik, the company has upgraded the continuous polycondensation installation as the first phase of the investment project to produce polyethylenerephthalate granules for textile purposes and polyester fiber with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year. Thus, now the company produces new, market-demanded "conjugate" fibers in the amount of 25,000 tonnes and standard fiber with improved quality characteristics up to 25,000 tonnes per year.
The first phase of the project was completed in 2018. Today the company is well equipped to make goods from terephthalic acid, to produce new fibers such as "conjugate" and to provide SvetlogorskKhimvolokno with raw materials of improved quality.
“Within the next five years we plan to implement, among other things, a number of small investment projects worth a total of €80 million - €100 million. The first of them aims to upgrade technical yarn production. At the end of 2020 one tonne of technical yarn cost €1,200. The new production will make it possible to cut costs by almost a half. These products are in demand. We will be able to increase our presence in foreign markets. We have a favorable geographical location, which helps us with logistics costs. There are only two companies in the former Soviet Union that produce technical yarns – Mogilevkhimvolokno and the plant in Volzhsky, the Russian Federation. Technical yarns have a very wide range of application - banner fabrics, canopies for trucks, roofing materials, and many more. We will launch work on this front in April,” Piotr Rudnik stressed.
The visit also included the discussion of a new line to produce technical tape and the rational use of idle production areas. “Today we have taken a look at the areas that the enterprise has. These are ready industrial premises. They can be rented to small industries. We agreed to choose small investment projects. Besides, the company has an opportunity to launch additional manufactures. For example, technical tape for packaging is produced here from waste. A great volume of timber is exported from our country, and where do we get tape for it? We have to buy it. In order to saturate the domestic market we need to put together another line worth about €1.5 million. This will help us meet the domestic demand for this type of product,” the vice premier said.
Yuri Nazarov also met with the personnel of the enterprise and discussed the main messages of the 6th Belarusian People's Congress. According to the deputy prime minister, people are well informed about the proposals adopted at the large-scale forum.
