The deputies of the Komi Republic State Council under the chairmanship of Sergei Usachev have got acquainted with the manufacturing process of Zheshartsky LPK, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary this year. A meeting with the company management was carried out during the visit.

During the excursion, the lawmakers received information about the manufacturing process and the technical characteristics. Visitors noted a significant contribution of Zheshartsky LPK to the economic development of the republic, creation of new jobs, as well as implementation of social projects on the territory of the Ust-Vymsky district.

Zheshartsky LPK Production Director Sergey Starodumov provided the information about the capabilities of the enterprise, production process of plywood manufacturing to the deputies of the State Council, described the ongoing modernization. He also informed that today the mill has a solid reputation in the sales markets and has long-term partnerships. More than 70 percent of the plywood produced is now exported by the Company. Sergey Starodumov said that consumers from different countries trust in the manufactured products, which high quality standards are annually confirmed by the world's leading laboratories.

Despite the objective difficulties, the mill does not reduce the production rates. According to the results of the year 2020, 280 thousand cubic meters of panel products were manufactured, including 186.1 thousand plywood, which is 5.6 percent more than in 2019. Almost half of the specified amount is laminated plywood.

Today, the financial position of the mill is estimated as stable, a positive trend of financial indicators has been observed since the second half of last year.

About 60 investment projects were implemented in 2020. Within the next 2-3 years, it is also planned to implement fast-payback projects of modernization and technical re-equipment of production facilities, increasing operation efficiency at all production stages. This will enable to increase the volume of plywood production, expand the product range by increasing the output of higher-margin plywood items, and increase the quality of products while reducing the costs.

Due to an increasing competition in the raw material market, a long-term lease of forest areas and development of its own logging is required for the Company. Today, the volume of forest plots in a long-term lease does not cover the production needs. That’s why, a part of this need is covered by supply of birch veneer from the mill divisions in the Kirov region and Udmurtia. Part of the raw material is supplied from the Arkhangelsk, Vologda and Kirov regions. The company has great hopes for an additional long-term lease of forest plots in the Komi Republic on a tender basis. This will ensure stability of the mill operation.

The meeting did not pass by the situation with the MDF production emissions. Ivan Kosarev, the chief executive officer of the company, says that the mill has developed and is implementing the measures on reduction of wood dust emissions into the atmosphere, which will almost completely eliminate the negative impact on the environment. A set of environmental works will consist of several stages and will last more than a year. It is not possible to solve this problem more quickly due to lack of both final technical solutions from the design companies and necessary financial resources in the mill.

The parliamentarians positively assessed the labor activity and qualification of the team, noted the importance of the mill, thanks to which a significant contribution is made to the economic development of the republic, and social partnership with the municipality; so the Zheshartsky LPK annually initiates and co-finances construction of new socially significant facilities in Zheshart.

— It is worth seeing and evaluating how the mill, and not for the first time, takes responsibility for development of design and estimate documentation for infrastructure facilities. Earlier, at the expense of the mill, projects were prepared for construction of a new water conduit 3.2 km long in the Zheshart settlement and major repairs of “Druzhba” cultural center were organized. This gave an opportunity for the district to include these facilities into target republican programs and attract more than 100 million rubles from the republican budget for their implementation”, noted by the deputy head of the Ust-Vymsky region, Angela Karpova, who was present at the meeting.