The Naval Salon opened in the northern capital. Maxim Meiksin, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee for Industrial Policy and Innovation, told VPK what will surprise the guests of the largest industry exhibition shipbuilders and city authorities.
- The Naval Salon is a landmark event not only for St. Petersburg, but for the whole of Russia. What developments would you pay attention to from the point of view of the development of military equipment and technologies?
- The Naval Show held in St. Petersburg is appreciated not only by professionals in shipbuilding and the defense industry. The townspeople get a unique opportunity to see the real wonders of technology, which solves very difficult tasks to ensure the combat effectiveness of our army, to develop hard-to-reach territories. At IMDS-2017, for example, the minesweeper "Alexander Obukhov" will be presented with the world's largest hull made of monolithic fiberglass, capable of finding and destroying mines at a safe distance. You can see the Yevgeny Kocheshkov hovercraft. There are no inaccessible lines for him, the car moves through water, land, swamps, minefields, bypassing obstacles and fences. This technique is accessible to 70 percent of the coastline of the seas and oceans.
Nine ships are on display live, and the exposition includes many models and installations.
Modern shipbuilding is working on solving such problems as ensuring all-season and all-weather ships. Logistics support vessel Elbrus was laid down at Severnaya Verf. Its uniqueness is that it is held at a given point in all weather conditions. With its power, "Elbrus" can tow ships up to aircraft carriers and search for sunken objects. In addition, it is a real floating medical laboratory with a pressure chamber, ready to help those in distress.
Among the technical innovations that St. Petersburg shipbuilders are likely to present are technologies that provide ships with invisibility: radar, optical, and acoustic. This is achieved by combining composite materials with special coatings. The latest developments in the field of transmission and suppression of radio signals are implemented in the "Thundering" corvette. Transas Group creates a unique "shell" for ship control - unmanned navigation, systems for optimizing fuel consumption and route planning, and other routine operations on a single platform.
- Shipbuilding has been the flagship industry of the Northern Capital since the city was founded. It is no coincidence that on the Direct Line with the President there was a connection from the Baltic Shipyard, which was preserved largely thanks to the personal intervention of Vladimir Putin. The enterprise is developing, building the world's most powerful nuclear icebreakers. What is the situation at other shipyards?
- We can be proud of them. Over the past two years, 21 ships have been launched in St. Petersburg. Many are absolutely unique and have no analogues: the world's most powerful nuclear-powered icebreaker "Arktika", the diesel-electric icebreaker "Ilya Muromets", the first serial mine-defense ship of the new generation "Georgy Kurbatov", the submarine "Veliky Novgorod".
Since the beginning of 2017, four vessels have been laid down, including the patrol icebreaker Ivan Papanin (Polar Patrol). The communication vessel "Ivan Khurs" was launched. At the moment, more than 30 projects are under construction at the St. Petersburg shipyards. All this suggests that the quality of our work is highly appreciated by our customers.
It should be noted that the enterprises of the shipbuilding complex have serious competencies for the development and production of high-tech civilian products. The city government is ready to assist them in this. The Council for the conversion of organizations of the defense industry of St. Petersburg was created. In this way, issues depending on the city administration, including property issues, are resolved faster, and cooperation of capacities for the production of civilian products is being established. The intention to produce it has already been announced by such enterprises as the Sredne-Nevsky shipyard. Soon our civil ships, I am sure, will compete with foreign ones.
- The lion's share of naval science is concentrated in our city. What developments would you note?
- St. Petersburg remains a center for the development of technologies that have no analogues in the world. The modernization of facilities and the renewal of the production base are of great importance.
A unique landscape wind tunnel (LAT) has been created at the Krylov State Scientific Center, which allows, to put it very simply, to test models for wind resistance. This is the only installation in Russia that helps to design warships of various classes capable of carrying naval aviation on board.
In May 2017, the Kirovsky Zavod opened the only universal test bench in Russia for steam turbines with a capacity of up to 75 megawatts. Investments in the project amounted to more than 1.3 billion rubles, of which 500 million is a loan from the Industry Development Fund of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. A steam turbine unit for an icebreaker of Project 22220 will be tested first at the new stand.
The Aurora concern has opened two new production lines that will produce a wide range of fourth-generation automation. The company has orders until 2050.
Large-scale modernization is carried out at the Sredne-Nevsky shipyard. It will make it possible to create vessels not only for military, but also for civil purposes. In a number of technologies, the plant has no competitors in the world. In 2017, the Ivan Antonov ship was launched with the world's largest hull made of monolithic fiberglass, formed by the vacuum infusion method.
Continuing the conversation about the achievements of the shipbuilding industry, one cannot fail to mention the development of a nuclear submarine project for seismic exploration at the Rubin Central Design Bureau. The rover is equipped with wings-seismic sensors, which open in the working position, forming a scanning surface with an area of hundreds of square meters. The sensors allow you to explore the bottom to a depth of several tens of meters and create a three-dimensional model of it.
This is a small part of those unique developments and technologies that the St. Petersburg shipbuilding industry is working on.
- Among the flagships we have, of course, not only shipbuilding …
- Quite right. The industrial complex of St. Petersburg is diversified. This allowed us to adequately overcome the difficulties caused by the external economic situation.
Engine building has shown very good results over the past year. This is a new domestic turboshaft engine TV7-117V, and an automatic control and monitoring unit BARK-88, developed by JSC "Klimov".
Power engineering and agricultural engineering continue to demonstrate high rates of development. Petersburg Tractor Plant (a subsidiary of JSC Kirovsky Zavod) not only increased the production of the famous Kirovtsev, but also began deliveries abroad. There are plans to develop new international markets - Australia, Canada, Czech Republic.
We have witnessed the active development of the pharmaceutical industry. Some foreign companies have decided to partially localize the production of key drugs at the facilities of St. Petersburg enterprises. On June 15, the first regional engineering center for microreactor synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients was opened. This will ensure the need for innovative technologies for the production of finished dosage forms and training of specialists.
At the recently concluded economic forum, the electronic company Elkus signed an agreement on the implementation of a strategic investment project. It is planned to create a high-tech production and research center in the Moskovsky district of St. Petersburg. On its site will be located the training base of the Department of Instrumentation SUAI. The enterprise works under the state defense order, produces modern electronics and automation. The implementation of the project will make it possible to create fundamentally new types of weapons under the import substitution program, and to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers.
We have a sufficient number of areas in which St. Petersburg enterprises have serious potential and opportunities for development.
- How can the main principle of industrial policy be formulated: science-intensive, technological, requiring high qualifications …
- Today, the priority of the city's industrial policy is to assist enterprises in opening and developing new markets, developing competencies that will allow St. Petersburg companies to become leaders in global competition.
One of the tools for such advanced development is the support of clusters, stimulation of the formation of new ones. This provides enterprises with support in staffing, modernization, and updating the technological base.
In December 2014, the Center for Cluster Development of St. Petersburg (CCR) was established. The main task is to create conditions for effective work and coordination of cluster activities with scientific institutions, government bodies, investors, research centers, as well as assistance in obtaining state support. Currently, the CDC oversees the activities of 11 clusters in St. Petersburg. Associations based on territorial and sectoral interests create a synergistic effect, optimal use of competencies and resources, which, of course, has a positive effect on the financial activities of enterprises and on the city's economy.
- It's no secret that every region lobbies orders to get serious science-intensive products. This is correct, and it should be. The governor said: "We helped our defense industry enterprises to increase the amount of contracts for the state defense order by 25 percent." What are the advantages, what are the city preferences for placing large orders in St. Petersburg?
- It should be noted right away that the defense industry complex is formed by more than 160 large and medium-sized enterprises representing such industries as shipbuilding, radio electronics and instrument making, aviation and space equipment, as well as the production of weapons directly. It employs about 20 percent of the city's industrial labor resources - more than 70 thousand people. The enterprises of the military-industrial complex concentrate mainly on the production of high-tech products. They have a very high potential, which is an undeniable competitive advantage.
- At one time, the program "Petersburg Industry to the City" was actively developed. To what extent is the research and production potential of enterprises in demand for urban needs? What is missing?
- He is certainly in demand. And this was proved by the successful work of the Center for Import Substitution and Localization (CIZ). Industry weeks are regularly held on its site. We managed to attract organizations and companies with a large volume of government orders to work and organize negotiations with St. Petersburg enterprises that are ready to replace suppliers of imported products. Among the companies that take part in the work of the CIZ are Rosatom, Rosseti, Russian Railways, Rusnano, and Gazpromneft. In 2016, CIZ held 39 industry weeks, about 730 business events, more than 280 contracts were concluded for the amount of 2.5 billion rubles. Over the entire period of work, the sum of all contracts concluded in the CIZ exceeded 3.8 billion rubles.
- The St. Petersburg industry at the end of 2016 pleased with the growth: 3, 9 percent - almost the best indicator in the country. How is it possible, what internal reserves are disclosed?
- In 2013–2014, we carried out a systemic restructuring of the industrial policy of St. Petersburg. The most effective measures to support enterprises were formed. The implementation of the program has begun. The result is that the St. Petersburg industry has been demonstrating steady growth for several years. In 2011 and 2012, three new productions were launched in our city. In 2014 - seven, in 2015 - already 11, in the past - 12. And in this we will launch a record number - 20.
The result of such systematic work can be called the growth of the industrial production index: in January - May 2017, it amounted to 102.7 percent. The manufacturing complex and the high-tech sector demonstrate positive dynamics and the greatest growth. First of all, due to an increase in the production of cars (125, 4%), the production of other vehicles and equipment, including shipbuilding (103, 9%). The production of drugs and materials used for medical purposes continued to grow (111.3%).
It should be noted that the majority of enterprises (88%) assess the overall economic situation positively. The KPPI sentiment index in May was 51.4 percent.
- At one time, Leningrad provided science and industry with highly professional engineers and workers. Not so long ago, it was not possible to lure the children into a technical university, a vocational school, for production. How is the situation getting better?
- It is still not the easiest one, but we still see an increase in the interest of young people in industrial specialties. To reinforce the trend, we run various campaigns. For example, open lessons, open house days. Last year they were held in 30 educational institutions and 30 industrial enterprises of St. Petersburg. Baltic Shipyard, Klimov, Zvezda, Elektropult and Krasny Oktyabr plants have opened their doors for schoolchildren and students.
A creative competition was held among the students on the theme “Industry of St. Petersburg. My impressions of visiting the enterprise”. During the forum of working youth on the territory of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Krylov State Scientific Center", the authors of the 10 best essays were awarded certificates and valuable prizes.
Organized and held solemn events dedicated to the Days of the shipbuilder and St. Petersburg industry. On the streets there were advertising posters depicting the best representatives of workers' specialties of the leading enterprises of the city. And this is only a part of the information campaign “Faces of St. Petersburg Industry”.
We actively interact with specialized committees in training personnel, improving their qualifications. The priority area is to provide specialists for the leading sectors of the economy of St. Petersburg, such as shipbuilding, mechanical engineering, IT-technologies, light industry. On the basis of professional educational institutions, additional programs are being implemented - advanced training, professional retraining. They are open both for training the adult population and for the released workers of enterprises and organizations under contracts with legal entities and individuals.
As I already said, cluster policy helps to solve these issues. Enterprises together create a demand for the training of certain specialists and interact with universities and colleges, creating special programs.
