Sulzer Group launches high-tech production to meet “AvtoVAZ” needs

Switzerland’s Sulzer Group, whose largest shareholder is the “Renova” Group of companies, is launching high-tech production to meet “AvtoVAZ” needs. The respective agreement was signed between the Sulzer Metco-Metaplas thin-film technology division and the OAO “AvtoVAZ” subdivision “Lada Instrument”, which supplies the Russian auto giant with tools and industrial equipment. The result of this collaboration will be the creation of the Sulzer Coating Center, which will be located on the territory of “Lada Instrument” in Togliatti.

The Center shall specialize in the application of coatings to improve materials’ surface properties. This technology can be used to achieve resistance to high temperature and oxidation, to increase wear resistance and electrical conductivity, to improve the appearance of products, etc. To date, advanced coating technology is widely used in various industries, ranging from the manufacturing of watches to the production of spare parts for racing cars and engineering tools.

“The specialists from “Lada Instrument” are already experienced in operating coating equipment using technology from the Oerlikon Group, and are also one of the enterprises of the “Renova” Group of companies. But if we are speaking about the sale of machines, a technological area is being created in the case of Sulzer: production is being localized and a complete transfer of new technologies is taking place," stated Mikhail Lifshitz, Director of High-tech Assets Development at the “Renova” Group of companies. “For the first time, “OAO” AvtoVAZ "and other machine-building enterprises in the region have access to cutting-edge coating technologies capable of upgrading product quality and improving economic performance in terms of production,” he added.

Creating a Coating Center in Togliatti is a logical extension of the “Renova” Group of companies’ strategy for implementing advanced technologies in Russia's leading global companies. The process for establishing production within Russia by Switzerland’s Sulzer and Oerlikon actively began in 2009 with the opening of the Sulzer Chemtech Center in Serpukhov (Moscow Region). In 2011, it entered its second phase. In 2010, the first coating center – Oerlikon Balzers – began operation in the town of Elektrostal (Moscow region). In September 2011, Sulzer established a Center for centrifugal pumps, called Sulzer Pumps, in Khimki (Moscow region), and less than a year later, a second center was opened in October (in Bashkortostan). In December 2011, an agreement was signed between the Ural Turbine Works (UTZ) and Sulzer Turbo Services regarding the localization of a gas turbine service in Russia.

About the “Renova” Group of companies (www.renova.ru):
A leading Russian private business group, which owns and manages assets in the metallurgical, oil, mining, chemical and construction industries, transport, energy, telecommunications, high-tech engineering, utilities and financial sectors, both in Russia and abroad (CIS countries, Switzerland, Italy, South Africa and the USA). The “Renova” Group of companies’ largest assets include shares in the following companies: TNK-BP, UC RUSAL, IES, as well as the Swiss technology groups OC Oerlikon and Sulzer.