Seizing opportunities ALTA

SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES

ALTA a.s., based in the Czech Republic, is a leading supplier of complex capital projects such as a truck manufacturing plant in Belarus or a train refurbishing plant in Uralvagonzavod. Irena Alderson reports about the new solutions from ALTA this year.

The Czech joint-stock company ALTA, a.s. is one of the most prominent trading and engineering companies operating in central and eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The company is renowned for its dynamic growth, prosperity and stability on the market. Since 1991, ALTA has specialised in mechanical engineering, metallurgy, mining and the energy sector. Thanks to the acquisition of the TOS Kurim Group (2005), the SE-MI Technology company (2008),CKD BLANSKO - OS (2010) and SKODA MACHINE TOOL (2011), ALTA has its own significant production and design base in the machine tool segment and in equipment for underground and surface mining. ALTA’s dynamic growth is further confirmed by its repeated ranking among the 100 most significant Czech companies, a chart put together every year by the CZECH TOP 100 Association. Since 2000, ALTA has constantly been among the front-runners and in 2008 the company came second in “The most successful company” category for South Moravia.

“ALTA has come a long way – starting with the supply of motors and turbo-blowers for the Russian market in 1991, the import of iron ore raw materials and fuel elements for Czech nuclear power plants, the export of machinery for railways, and later, major investment activities in mining and engineering,” says Lubomir Fabik, the general manager and a member of the board of ALTA, a.s. “During this time, ALTA evolved into a group of companies with six manufacturing subsidiaries based in the Czech Republic - SKODA MACHINE TOOL, a.s., TOS KURIM – OS, a. s., CKD BLANSKO – OS, a. s., KULICKOVE SROUBY KURIM, a. s., SLEVARNA KURIM, a. s., a SE-MItechnology, a. s, which provide products for the core activities of ALTA. However, there are many more suppliers. This is the process of development from a purely trading company into today’s group of trading, manufacturing and engineering companies. This is linked to a network of trade representations and daughter companies in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. In the last few years in ALTA has also represented in Vietnam. A crisis creates new possibilities

“The economic downturn has recently acted as a motor for change. It poses new opportunities, which do not appear in a time of stability. In our experience, the most dynamic growth for ALTA has come after the downturn or as a result of economic slowdown. During times of prosperity companies can function independently, however in times of difficulty ALTA can act as a strong partner providing complete supplies, new innovative technological solutions as well as financing. It is easier to push for a change in times of economic uncertainty as well. So far ALTA has managed to take advantage of crises, be it in 1991 when the markets were fragmented or in 1998, when we undertook a project for the complex refurbishment of a manufacturing plant in Belarus.”

ALTA has succeeded in utilising the current situation on the market yet again. In 2010 it has bees signed a EPC contract with the Uralmetanolgroup for the construction of a brand new plant for methanol production in Nizhny Tagil in the Ural region. This follows a long tradition of the petro-

FANS a.s.

FANS a.s., a producer and supplier of cooling towers, worked together with ALTA, a.s. in 2009 to built a CTF 100/II cooling tower in Magnitogorsk, Russia.

For more information please visit: www.fansct.com

chemical industry in Czech Republic and in particular in Brno, where used to be one of the centres of engineering and production in the field. This constitutes a big opportunity for many suppliers from the Czech Republic to continue in this market.

“ALTA will take advantage of its vast commercial know-how in the supply of complex investment units. I am confidentit is a sector with a very good long term outlook and it might bring increased investment of a similar type in the future,” explains Mr Fabik. ALTA will cooperate with Czech company PSG, which specialises in the petrochemical industry.

Next year, ALTA is going to deliver a complex capital project – the above mentioned methanol manufacturing plant in Ural with a capacity 600 thousand tons (the applications of ethanol are synthetic rubber, plastic or fuel additives). The turnkey contract for construction, technology and financing of this project for nearly six billion CZK was signed in July 2010 and expected to finish in 2014, says Milos Krutak, the commercial director.

“Uralmetanolgroup is backed by the Russian gas company Itera and an Austrian holding, UPC Chemicals, which owns the Uralchimplast Nizhny Tagil. We are conducting an audit for potential Czech suppliers, since half of the suppliers are guaranteed to be from the Czech Republic. This is a new opportunity for us to work with suppliers of technologies for the chemical industry and only the first phase of a long cooperation,” concludes Mr Krutak. n