15 January 2024
Looking back at events and achievements of Volga JSC in 2023.
1.Volga JSC has started implementing a new priority investment project in forest development. Just another investment project in the forestry sector of the Nizhny Novgorod region, which is being implemented by Volga JSC, was put on the list of priority investment projects by the Order of the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Vasily Osmakov dated February 20, 2023.
The project features the development of the package paper production with the increase in raw material processing capacity and implementation of energy-efficiency measures, including reorienting paper-making machine No. 6 and organization of forest harvesting operations in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
The expansion of own raw material base is expected on the area of about 100 thousand hectares, with the annual allowable cut of almost 210 thousand cubic meters; about 250 new jobs will be created, including 144 high-performance jobs.
Investments into the project will reach almost 5.7 billion rubles.
2. Special investment contract SPIC 2.0 for the production of corrugating paper using a new process was signed. The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Russia, Volga timber company, Nizhny Novgorod region and Balakhna municipal district signed a Special Investment Contract (SPIC 2.0).
The SPIC will help to start mass production of corrugating paper using new processes, which will increase the finished-product output by 140 thousand tons per year, as well as increase profits from the sale of additional output of finished products.
The plan also includes the implementation of energy-efficiency measures and an investment project to increase own electricity generation of the company. In particular, a new condensing steam turbine with a 27 MW generator will be installed in the energy complex (NiGRES) of Volga JSC, which will support the growing energy consumption of the company thanks to excess steam resulting from the redistribution of heat balances of consumers in the region and heat load seasonality.
3.The products of Volga JSC are among the “100 Best Products of Russia.” Four types of products from the Volga paper mill became diploma and prize winners of the federal stage of the “100 Best Products of Russia” program at the end of 2022.
In the “Technical and Industrial Goods” nomination, the expert commission awarded diplomas to Bulking paper used for printing and other graphic purposes, Corrugating paper, and Newsprint paper (GOST 6445-74).
Low-weight paper designed for newspaper, magazine, advertising leaflet, booklet and teaching aids printing was highly appraised and received the status of a laureate of the competition.
According to the competition regulations, these products can be marked with the “100 Best Products of Russia” sign for two years.
The high praise of the expert commission is the result of the successful work of the entire Volga JSC team in introducing unique technologies for the production of packing and printing papers made from 100% thermomechanical pulp.
4. Expert RA has upgraded the credit rating of Volga JSC to ruA+. The Expert RA rating agency has upgraded the credit rating of the non-financial company Volga JSC to ruA+, the rating outlook is stable. Earlier on, the company had a rating of ruA- with a stable outlook. The upgrade of the credit rating is due to the agency's reassessment of company forecast debt metrics towards improvement against the backdrop of strong financial indicators at the end of 2022, which exceeded the agency's expectations.
5.The corporate team of JSC Volga celebrated the 95th anniversary of the Company. 95 years ago, in August 1928, the first paper tape passed through paper-making machine No. 1, and reel operators charged it into a reel spool. The first shifting weighing four tons was a big victory not only for the employees of the Balakhna Paper Mill, but also for the entire country. Over the course of 95 years, the Balakhna Paper Mill has many times set examples of both innovative initiatives and labor heroism. The birth of the Stakhanov Pronin movement, the unparalleled labor achievements of paper makers during the Great Patriotic War, the era of retrofitting and upgrading in the course of the Seven-Year Plan implementation, and of course, the transformations in the early 1990s, are all lettered in gold in the history of the national pulp and paper industry, determining the fate of the Company for decades. The period from 2019 to 2023 can rightfully be called the “five-year period of far-reaching changes” at Volga JSC. During these years, gradually, step by step, the Company, led by the General Director Sergei Pondar, has been implementing a new strategy for the development and diversification of its product portfolio. The market developments caused not just an expansion of the range, but a major revision of the Company’s production policy. And Volga JSC has moved from the category of “one of the Russian leading manufacturers of newsprint paper” to the category of “one of the leaders in the production of packing papers.”
Media Office of Volga JSC
