A German investor plans to launch concrete product manufacturing in Vitebsk

A new production facility for concrete products, with the participation of a foreign investor, is planned to be launched in Vitebsk by the end of 2020. A German company will invest at least $400,000 in the revival of the production site of the former communal repair and construction enterprise.

This became known following the results of an auction at the Vitebskoblimushchestvo committee. The former production base on S. Pankova Street in the regional center was put up for tender. It has not been used since July 2019 after the DKPUP "Specialized Repair and Construction Department of Vitebsk" was declared bankrupt and liquidated. The lot included two structures with a total area of over 740 sq. m (one of them is a covered concrete mixing unit), and the right to lease a 0.4 ha land plot for 25 years was also sold. The facility attracted one buyer, who paid over 172.2 thousand rubles for the real estate.

The new owner expects to push competitors aside and capture market share primarily through quality. This will be ensured by high-class equipment, which has no analogues at least in the region.

According to his representative, Vadim Shapunov, the new owner, in tandem with a German investor, intends to breathe a second life into the troubled asset. It is planned to install an automated line for the production of paving slabs, curbs, landscaping elements, building blocks, and other concrete products. Equipment from Sweden, manufactured in 2019, with components from German companies, is designed for the production of 650 sq. m of products per shift. The German partner is also ready to purchase and install the equipment, and provide specialized transport. Initially, it is planned to create about 20 jobs, and the foreign participant of the project will also undertake personnel training.

The partners are ready to implement their plans this year, provided, of course, that business activity is restored after the pandemic.

— The region has a well-developed production of concrete products, and we aim to displace competitors and capture market share primarily through quality. This will be ensured by high-class equipment, which has no analogues at least in the region, — noted Vadim Shapunov. Products certified according to European standards will be sold to Belarusian consumers and exported to the regions of Russia closest to the Vitebsk region. In the future, the choice of the company's development strategy will depend on the manufacturer's market position. For now, the German partner is ready to increase investment cooperation, including for the expansion of construction materials production.

"Vitebskiye vesti".