Company management speeches

V. Danilenko: «To fulfill the programme on NPP construction, we shall start at the earliest»

Mr. V. Danilenko, General Director JSC EMAlliance-Atom and a member of Council of Directors JSC ZIO-Podolsk, analyzes the challenges of new NPP projects in real earnest. As an adviser of Atomenergomash (100 % shares are under the government control), he examines companies in Russia and other countries. Victor Danilenko gives his expert’s opinion: whether this manufacturer shall be involved in the consolidation of facilities and whether that manufacturer is able to produce the particular equipment specified in the investment programmes.

We asked Victor Danilenko to summarize his yearly work on consolidation of companies.

- Mr. Danilenko, why it was decided to consolidate first JSC ZIO-Podolsk and Izhorskiye Zavodi?

- First of all, creation of EMAlliance-Atom is the first step in consolidation of assets of the leading power engineering companies. This consolidation is required to implement the plan for expansion of nuclear power engineering. I mean not only the federal goal-oriented plan for NPP construction in Russia till 2015 which was adopted by RF government in October, I’m speaking also about the plan for export of our high-technological products in other countries.

Russia is one of the three world’s countries which has advanced technologies in nuclear power engineering and our plans for NPP expansion till 2030 are really great. For 25 years we shall build minimum 40 power units in this country and at least 40 power units of NPP in other countries. According to my information, such scope of construction more than doubles that one realized for 30 years in the former USSR during the boom in NPP construction.

Today’s great plans require consolidation of facilities.

Cooperation of Izhorskiye Zavodi and ZIO-Podolsk is quite natural as the first step in creation of big holding. Izhorskiye Zavodi is a basis, particularly a metallurgical basis, of NPP construction. First of all, Izhorskiye Zavodi is a producer of special-purpose steels, reactors, steam generator shells and other equipment of such materials. ZIO-Podolsk is one of the main suppliers of NPP base equipment, heat exchangers, piping and different kinds of equipment for turbine hall and nuclear island. We cannot do without each other today. ZIO-Podolsk is interested in cooperation with Izhorskiye Zavodi, OMZ, Specstal , of course, these interests are mutual. The main manufacturers realize that the consolidation of facilities is required.

- Is a chart of the future holding already known?

- I can tell you, that we know the main companies to be consolidated in the holding but the chart is not defined yet. We will cooperate with many companies. I have already mentioned some of them. We would like Skoda to join us. Of course, we are interested in Power Machines as a manufacturer of full-speed turbines and generators.

Production of half-speed turbines is one of the main current issues for us to study. Atomenergomash has negotiations with the main turbine manufacturers, i.e. Kharkovsky Turbine Plant, Alstom, General Electric. We have not decided how to arrange the production of half-speed turbines in Russia: to build a new plant or to retrofit an existing one.

We are much sure that the production of half-speed turbines in Russia is the best way to follow. However, the terms are very short, we have only three years to construct the plant and start the manufacture of turbines.

We analyze possible cooperation with advanced foreign manufacturers but in any case the majority stock shall belong o the Russian government represented by Rosatom.

- A number of unique manufacturers wound up or switched over to other kind of production. How will you solve this problem?

- When a company has either wound up the business or does not want to produce the products of initial specialization or does not plan to join the holding, we will find alternative ways. Perhaps, the scope of production of such companies will be distributed among “acting” Russian companies. For example, we are going to increase the range of products, in particular pipework, at ZIO-Podolsk where retrofit is carried out and new products are implemented successfully.

We make similar proposals to and come to agreement with other Russian companies about articles earlier produced at the wrecked companies.

We make efforts in every field of activity but today we are not ready to provide final approach to any and all equipment of NPP.

- Mr. Danilenko, speaking about NPP construction, we shall not forget what people think of nuclear power …

- We understand how much important is to revise people’s feelings about nuclear energy. With coming supply deficit of oil and gas, nuclear power will have additional advantages as it is independent on supply of raw materials. Nuclear power forms energy resources of the country.

I hope, this statement is obvious for the people living in the regions where NPP is the only source of power supply. I mean Rostovskaya, Kalininskaya, Leningradskaya and Novovoronezhskaya nuclear power plants. People know that NPP construction requires high-qualified employees and provides high earnings. I think that safety of nuclear power units is known and makes people feel confident. As an expert, I feel quite confident.

Anyone who is involved in the field of nuclear power engineering does not consider Chernobyl tragedy to be a criteria of protection level against accidents. In addition, the power units of Chernobyl type are being shutdown, in future only units with water-to-water energy reactors and fast reactors will be constructed and such reactors have had no significant failures anywhere. It is worth mentioning that Russian reactors are highly competitive with the best world’s ones.

- For the project of consolidation of nuclear equipment manufacturers, you are examining companies in Russia and other countries. You estimate availability to produce the scope of equipment required for Russian power engineering. My next question is: What would you say about the potential of domestic power engineering to cope with the given tasks?

- We have analyzed the availability of our industry to put into service the required facilities. I assure you that our manufacturers are ready to construct two power units per year. The leading companies have preserved facilities and staff.

The earlier we start to work according to the adopted plan, the more opportunities will be given to the managers of companies to solve problems. The construction of three or four power units requires vast investment in retrofit and recruiting.

We develop two important plans at ZIO-Podolsk now which are retrofit of facilities and recruiting of the new staff. The latter will include building of new houses and provision of cheap mortgage credits. I’d like to emphasize that before solving the staff problem we shall solve the housing problem. Moreover, involved in high-technological production of nuclear equipment, employees shall be paid for appropriately.

Generally, I can see no reasons to be pessimistic, the key point now is to start the work and to launch this plan the sooner the better.

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