Nikolai Sherstnev familiarized himself with production innovations and the modernization progress of the Vitebsk Electrical Measuring Instruments Plant
Since 2013, VZEP has been part of the Avtokomponenty holding. During this period, employees have formed the opinion that the decision made was ill-considered. According to the representative of the trade union committee, based on how the relationships between its participants are developing, it gives the impression that the structure uses the potential of the Vitebsk manufacturer solely for its own purposes, without considering the interests and development prospects of VZEP. In this regard, the collective appealed to the head of the region for assistance in resolving the issue of transferring the enterprise from republican to communal ownership.
Nikolai Sherstnev's general approaches to this issue are well-known: enterprises should be under the jurisdiction of local authorities, who are interested in their prosperity and in ensuring employment for the people working there. This is confirmed, for example, by the investment activity of the Vitebsk region's industrial complex: while communal organizations are constantly increasing investments in development, the opposite trend is observed in republican ones. On the other hand, Nikolai Sherstnev is convinced that today, in tough competition, large players have significantly increased chances of survival. The объединение of technologically linked manufacturers opens up new opportunities for lending, technical re-equipment, and improving management quality.
The heads of the Ministry of Industry and the "Autocomponents" holding, present at the meeting, acknowledged that the integration structure comprises technologically diverse enterprises. Essentially, they are united only by a common end consumer, which facilitates export operations. Addressing his republican colleagues, Nikolai Sherstnev emphasized that only through joint efforts with local authorities, with full mutual understanding and support, can the future of the industrial sector be shaped and the current problems of specific manufacturers be resolved.
— The work collective must understand that they will have jobs, salaries, and see development prospects; then, ownership issues will not arise. Therefore, the problem must be thoroughly studied and a balanced decision made, again, with mandatory consideration of the employees' opinions. If necessary, I will get involved and support their decision, — summarized the chairman of the regional executive committee.
The head of the Vitebsk Regional Union of Employers, Vladimir Turavin, also spoke in favor of transferring the plant to communal ownership:
— The enterprise will not be lost, especially since it possesses competencies utilized by many organizations in the region.
According to the director of "VZEP," Evgeny Lyadvin, the plant operates with good capacity utilization (up to 80% in certain production lines), ensuring financial stability. For the first 4 months of 2021, the net profit obtained exceeded 820 thousand rubles. Over 70% of the total production volume consists of electrical measuring instruments for the automotive industry. Key consumers include leading automotive enterprises in Belarus and Russia, to which up to 96% of the export product volume is shipped.
Today, the "VZEP" production portfolio includes many new auto-electronic products. According to Evgeny Lyadvin, the instrument clusters for MAZ and MTZ created at the enterprise are on par with global counterparts, incorporating new circuit engineering solutions developed by the plant's designers. The production of such innovations with higher quality characteristics became possible due to the implementation of an investment project to create a high-performance assembly production based on one of the workshops. The investment volume exceeded 2 million rubles, half of which comes from the joint-stock company's own funds. This has improved the working conditions for specialists and expanded "VZEP's" technological potential. The next step is the modernization of another workshop, which is planned to begin in 2022.
— It will house the final assembly and automated testing of auto-electronic products. Some of the equipment for the new assembly production was developed and manufactured directly at our enterprise, and we have protected it with an invention patent, — noted Evgeny Lyadvin.
During his working trip, Nikolay Sherstnev visited the workshops, familiarized himself with the production innovations and the progress of modernization, and also held a reception for personal matters of the enterprise's employees.