Johnson Matthey has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the First Deputy Governor of Russia's Krasnoyarsk Region, and the General Director of the Krastsvetmet Metal Company to secure a brown field site as the first step in a multi-million pound investment to build an autocatalyst manufacturing plant in Russia. The site is located within the boundary of the Krastsvetmet's facility in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia.
Over the last five years Russia has emerged as a significant player in the global automotive industry, with many international original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) investing in local manufacturing facilities. Johnson Matthey plans to build a plant to manufacture emission control catalysts for a wide range of both diesel and petrol powered vehicles for the local Russian market, which will see emissions legislation requiring the use of autocatalysts come into force this spring.
The chosen site is located within the secure perimeter of the Krastsvetmet site however the new factory will be wholly owned and operated by Johnson Matthey. Under the terms of the MOU, the new facility will purchase precious metal salts from Krastsvetmet for use in the manufacture of autocatalysts. The site has direct on-site access to the Trans Siberian Railway, which will provide daily logistical links to the rest of the Russian Federation. Johnson Matthey already has significant business links with Krastsvetmet and since 2002 has licensed them technologies for the production of precious metal gauzes for the chemical industry.
The MOU was signed by Lev Kuznetsov, the First Deputy Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Region, Paul Framp, Managing Director European Region, Johnson Matthey Environmental Catalysts and Technologies, and Igor Tikhov, General Director of the Krastsvetmet Metal Company.
Commenting on Johnson Matthey's investment plans, Paul Framp said "We have been closely monitoring the progress of the auto industry in Russia for some time and we have well established sales to the indigenous car manufacturers. The last few years have seen significant growth in local vehicle demand and we now seeing major investments from established European, Asian and American OEMs. With recent developments in emission legislation in the Russian Federation, the stage is set for local expansion of autocatalyst manufacturing. We feel that this is the right time to secure our place in the market and we are very pleased to be able to strengthen our working relationship with Krastsvetmet and to utilise their great experience with precious metals".
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