Committee for the Chemical Industry has formulated proposals for the country’s Government

On February 12 at a meeting of the Committee for the Chemical Industry of “Delovaya Rossiya” (Business Russia), the industry representatives discussed proposals for the Government of the Russian Federation to develop the production of small and medium-tonnage products.

The topic relevance was emphasized within the framework of the meeting of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin with top managers of Russian petrochemical companies, which took place on December 1, 2020. One of the main discussion topics in the Committee’s meeting agenda was the training of specialized personnel. Those present confirmed that chemical companies had serious remarks to the training quality of specialists graduated by the vocational education system.

Mikhail Sutyaginsky, head of the Committee noted that in connection with the development of small-tonnage chemistry, the personnel issue became more acute.

“The development of the industry requires specialists in the field of fine organic synthesis, it requires deep enough knowledge and skills,” he said. “Small-tonnage products require, to a greater extent, research activities, R&D, and of course - their implementation. This is the place where it is important for us to find contact points with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.”

Yulia Smirnova, First Deputy Head of the National Agency for the Development of Qualifications, said that the organization actively develops the work of 40 councils on professional qualifications in different directions, including chemical ones. The agency is ready to attract the Committee to participate in the specialized industry council on qualifications.

Irina Vendilo, General Director of the Roskhimreaktiv Association noted that positive changes had taken place in small-tonnage chemistry with the assistance of the Government of the Russian Federation, but the industry developed slowly:

“Achievement of the goals set by the President of the Russian Federation in this area is possible only by expanding the product range,” she said. “There is Government Decree No. 1649 as a support measure, but its developers don’t take into account the terms and conditions of the product introduction to the market, expenses for certification, homologation and promotion, and the rate of return limits the nomenclature of projects to high-margin projects only.”

According to the speaker, reduction of the product certification period and creation of tax preferences for consumers of Russian small-tonnage products can become real drivers of development.

Mikhail Sutyaginsky, head of the Committee, outlined the environmental aspect of small-tonnage chemistry projects, including those using biotechnologies. He proposed to subsidize the cost of equipment and infrastructure for companies in this sphere. Besides, the founder of the Group of companies Titan called for the introduction of a negative excise tax on eco-friendly feedstock - bioethanol and legislative ban on the use of methanol in washing fluids. The industrialist considers microfluidics as a promising area - compact micro-reactor production facilities capable of providing the country with a wide range of valuable products within a short period time - from synthetic resins to pharmacological substances.

Igor Kostyuk, General Director of Novocherkassk Lubricant Production Plant, took the floor on behalf of small-scale chemical enterprises, who spoke in favor of working out programs of interaction between basic feedstock producers and small-tonnage consumers, supporting the development of RD&E on the basis of higher educational institutions, as well as measures of expanding the range of domestic process equipment:

“I propose to make the Committee for Chemical Industry of “Delovaya Rossiya” (Business Russia) a platform for discussing conditions of abandoning the usage of hazardous methanol in windshield washer fluids. We are ready to organize a working group consisting of conscientious manufacturers of auto chemicals for studying the issue of abandoning counterfeit products and switching over to isopropyl alcohol.”

Other members of “Delovaya Rossiya” - Andrey Nepomnyashchy, representative of the Energy Committee and Alexey Vinnichenko, member of the Board of Directors of Plastic JSC highlighted their own key points. As a result of the event, the participants of the meeting agreed that they would send their proposals to the Committee regarding the work in the stated areas in order to form a common package of the chemical industry initiatives.

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