Made for the people

Unique production of Bellesbumprom. Details of the President’s working trip to the Gomel Region.

A very complex production. Space-level technology! Who would have thought that such an epithet from experts would be awarded to a new enterprise at the Dobrush Paper Mill Geroy Truda? It really amazes with its scale and economic effect. Last week, the President personally praised the production of coated  and uncoated cardboard, calling it unique. Aleksandr Lukashenko also stressed, “We know how to do everything when we are sovereign, independent, when we understand what we are doing for ourselves and our people.”

One good turn deserves another

In total, about $350m was spent on the new venture. And although the plant will reach full capacity presumably in a year, we can already say that the money will be paid off many times over. But first, the Chairman of the Bellesbumprom Concern, Mikhail Kasko, reported to the President on how the industry worked in 2021, “We have historically the lowest stock balances. Demand is very good; we didn’t expect it to be so high. We export 80 percent of what we produce. Prices for all products are also the highest in history. 

This year, we will add more than $250m in exports and come close to $900-950m.”

Such a favourable conjuncture enables the enterprises of the industry to gradually pay off debts, repay budget loans and bank loans issued against guarantees from the Government.

Fine tuning

The new company for the production of coated and uncoated cardboard is gaining momentum. From June to September, almost 9,000 tonnes of products have already been manufactured here, said Aleksandr Kolyada, Director General of the Management Company of the Belorusskiye Oboi Holding. They work in close co-operation with the Svetlogorsk Pulp and Cardboard Mill. It’s impossible to make cardboard without bleached pulp. The technology is only at first glance simple, in fact, as Mr. Kolyada says, it is space-level technology, “There are 2,500 sensors here that receive 4,000 signals. A very complex, fine-tuning procedure.”
 And the wages in such jobs are appropriate. For example, machine operators and cardboard cutters receive over Br1,600 (about $650), leading technologists — Br2,200-2,300 (about $900-940). The new facility already employs 509 people, with 40 more jobs being vacant. Most of them are high-tech, requiring special training, knowledge and experience.
According to the Director General, next year the enterprise plans to produce 120,000 tonnes of cardboard, subsequently reaching the design capacity of 200,000 tonnes. Moreover, 90 percent of the production will go abroad. That is, we will not only cover internal needs, but also earn currency.
The Head of State familiarised himself with the principles of operation of the main technological equipment and then talked with the labour collective of the factory, 

“The construction of this unique facility is finally over. We can learn lessons from the many challenges we faced during its construction. And we have learned a lot: how to build and how to supervise the process. I am pleased that we have completed the project.”

The President is convinced that the new production in Dobrush opens up new prospects not only for the town itself, but also for the country as a whole, because enterprises in other regions will also develop. The main thing, of course, is people’s well-being.

Pressure from the outside

The President noted that the state has done much to create a new production facility at the Dobrush factory. A lot of money has been invested, and people should appreciate it. However, Aleksandr Lukashenko urged workers to take a deeper look at the situation and the situation around the country, to learn how to analyse information, “Things will not be easy for us. They will just not leave us alone. Our manufacturing industry is one of the reasons.  As an example, the President also cited machine building, where Belarus competes with western countries and many want to oust us from the markets. Let’s say that the same BELAZ occupies 30 percent of the world market. Sanctions have been imposed on this company for a reason, said Aleksandr Lukashenko, “The better we do, the more pressure we will face from the outside. Everything is far from simple. We have to do our best to survive. That is our number one task.

I do not want to go to war, but I do not want us subjugated, either. If we just get down on our knees, we’ll never get up.”

Promising business plan

Factory workers are worried: are there enough raw materials in our forests for the successful operation of the enterprise? The President reassures that there is an abundance of raw materials. The main thing is how to rework it all, 
“Three million cubic metres of timber have been stuck. You process only half a million... 

That is, woodworking will surely exist. We have learned a lot by modernising woodworking enterprises.”

The business plan is already active. A dozen pellet factories have been built in Belarus for wood processing (after hurricanes swept across our country a few years ago in the forests there was a lot of timber to process). Their products are now in great demand, including abroad.
“They take with both their arms and legs! They forgot that Lithuanians or Poles do not like Belarus. They take everything off the wheels. And the prices are decent,” says Aleksandr Lukashenko. “We’ve made a good profit. Next year we will recoup all these plants and will continue to build them further, because there is a great demand for clean fuel while firewood has always been clean.”

By Yevgeny Kononovich, Dmitry Umpirovich