Indian paint company to open plant in Russia

Indian paint manufacturing company Berger Paints has chosen to set up a plant in the Russian town of Nevinnomysk in the Stavropol region.

The decision to locate its paint and varnish manufacturing centre there was taken after a group of Indian investors visited the town's industrial park.

Indian investors visited a Russian regional industrial park, Nevinnomysk, along with regional officials, Vasily Shestak, first deputy head of the Nevinnomysk administration, and Dmitry Tolmachev, deputy minister of energy, industry and communication of the Stavropol region. After examining some of the other functioning enterprises and exploring the options, the Indians decided to set up a paint manufacturing factory there.

Vladimir Vladimirov, governor of the region, and Kuldip Singh Dhingra, owner of Berger Paints, one of India's biggest paints and varnish manufacturing companies, had in February 2015 signed in New Delhi an agreement on cooperation, to establish an industrial and domestic paint and varnish manufacturing unit.

Berger officials are finalising a site for the factory at Nevinnomysk, for which four to six hectares of land are required. The company plans to invest at least $5 million in the project and create at least 50 jobs. According to local residents, it makes sense that Nevinnomysk was selected as the location for the new plant, because it has a highly developed transportation and logistics infrastructure for industry.

During their visit to Nevinnomysk, representatives from Berger Paints along with Shestak, Tolmachev and other local authorities and local and regional journalists visited some functional enterprises. These included PK Stroymontaj Yug (aggregate industry), USK (producing construction materials), MK-Nevprom (manufacturing multilayered paper bags), Lissant-Yug (poly-urethane sandwich-panels installment), Nevinnomyssky profil (manufacturing roll-shaped zinked metal profiles using cold shaping method), Terminal (logistical complex) and metallurgical factory Stavstal.

The regional industrial park began functioning in 2010 as a pilot project for the region. In 2012, it received a certificate from the association of the industrial parks of Russia with an "active" status, which was confirmed in 2014.

The value of investment in projects at the park is 16.74 billion rubles ($294.5 million). Investors have already paid 7.5 billion rubles. Of the 1,255 jobs envisaged, 624 jobs have been created, around 80 percent of all jobs created in the town.

Active enterprises have produced goods worth almost two billion rubles, and actively contributed to the town's economy, thus improving conditions in the town and the region.

(In arrangement with Moscow-based Russia & India Report.)