In the Kaluga region, the Finnish "RUUKKI Rus" company has announced the start of a new production line of "Life" sandwich panels. A representative has told reporters about the company's plans and the situation on the market.
As our Construction.ru special correspondent, Tatyana Kanunnikova, reports, the sales director of the "RUUKKI" Roofing Department, Ekaterina Rajahalme, pointed out that the company aims to keep up to date by means of production localization.
"We are betting on import substitution. The fact that our products are made in Russia is what attracts our clients. At present, this really works: quality controls are complied with and the product is local", said Ekaterina Rajahalme, answering a question from the Construction.ru correspondent on the priorities in the promotional strategy of the company.
Ms Rajahalme emphasized that, previously, their products were sold only in Finland, Estonia and Poland. In March 2014, two production lines for metal tile roofing were started in Russia: the "Monterrey" brand in Balabanovo, in the Kaluga region, and in 2015 the "Adamante" and "Finnera" brands were added. Production capacity for each line amounts to 1 mln tons a year.
Another step on the path to localization is the opening a shop in Balabanovo, pointed out the "RUUKKI Rus" representative. The first shop commenced operations a year ago and mainly specializes in selling its own products, including those from Balabanovo.
"Within a year, it has been noted that interest in domestic products under the RUUKKI brand is great. We noticed this when we began to receive a lot of calls. We are planning to open the second shop this year. Later on, we are going to convert these shops into a chain", explained Ms Rajahalme.
The "Finnera Eco" production line uses local raw materials. Thus the company is expanding its localization: where once the production was in Russia but the raw material were from Finland, now Russian raw materials are used. At present, 90% of raw materials are still imported and 10% are domestic.
According to Ms Rajahalme, taking localization into consideration, the company is planning to increase sales in Russia by 16%, mostly at the expense of private consumers. At the same time, the RUUKKI representative noted a downturn in the demand for metal tile roofing.
The "RUUKKI Rus" Director for Technological Development, Alexander Belyaev, announced new sandwich panels, which have been released in 2016. The new "Life" sandwich panels differ from the traditional ones in their high energy performance, lower cost and high quality.
According to Mr Belyaev, the number of buildings constructed to environmental standards is an indicator of the "Green construction" development level. The main point of such efforts should be the reduction of resources consumption throughout the life cycle.
The sandwich panels, manufactured by "RUUKKI", are used in the construction of commercial facilities as well as housing. "Residential properties are being built with our sandwich panels, and in Magadan a medical center and even a rehab facility have been constructed”, added Mr Belyaev.
The "RUUKKI Rus" Company has two manufacturing plants in Balabanovo and Obninsk, as well as a logistic center. At this time, over 1200 employees work for the company, 40% of whom are manual workers.
