Vitebsk Carpets plans to invest about Br8 billion in technological re-equipment in 2010.

February 1, Minsk /Tatyana Chumakova - BELTA/. Vitebsk Carpets Open Joint Stock Company plans to invest about Br8 billion in technical re-equipment this year, the enterprise informed BELTA correspondent. These funds will be used to purchase machines for the final finishing of carpets and carpet products. This refers to equipment for "appreturovanie" - impregnating materials or applying various substances (starch, glue, synthetic resins) during finishing, which impart stiffness, crease resistance, shrinkage resistance, and fire resistance to the finished products. The new machines are planned to be commissioned in the first half of the current year. Thanks to the acquired equipment, labor productivity will increase, the quality of manufactured products will improve, their range will expand, and energy consumption will decrease. By the way, the technical re-equipment of the enterprise has been actively carried out since 1998. In particular, in 2009, Vitebsk Carpets spent about Br8.4 billion on production modernization. Two dyeing machines, a warping machine, a high-speed tufting machine, and a carpet loom were purchased. The tufted carpet and weaving and finishing factory were equipped with new equipment. As a result, new types of products were mastered last year - tufted carpets and carpet products with a combined pile, "chino" carpets, and "shaggy" carpets (double-cloth high-pile carpets). In 2009, Vitebsk Carpets produced marketable products at comparable prices worth over Br125 billion, with a growth rate of 105.2% compared to 2008. In physical terms, more than 7.5 million square meters of carpets and carpet products were manufactured (108% compared to 2008). Consumer goods were produced 6.6% more than in the previous year. The enterprise's finished goods inventory as of January 1, 2010, amounted to 58.9% of the average monthly production volume, against the target of 81.2% set by the Bellegprom concern. The energy saving indicator for 2009 was minus 12.2%. The enterprise was founded in 1947 on the basis of the Dvina flax spinning mill, built in 1900. It was transformed into an Open Joint Stock Company in 1994. It is an enterprise with mixed ownership without foreign participation, with the state holding a controlling stake (51.1%) in the authorized fund. It is part of the Bellegprom concern. Currently, Vitebsk Carpets has mastered all types of machine-made products: from synthetic tufted carpet coverings to high-density woven carpets with hand-carved relief patterns. The color palette can be composed of eight colors. About 70% of the products manufactured are exported - to Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, and other countries. In 2009, goods worth $21.3 million were sold abroad. About 1.3 thousand people work at the enterprise. -0-