If I was given one dollar for every comment I read that Russia is not producing anything, that the industry has been ruined, and that we are hopelessly behind the West, then I would have become a millionaire long ago. I know that many of those who write such comments are not paid trolls of the State Department, but are innocent victims of the editorial policy of our media, for whom the story about the new "space" tram UralVagonZavod is boring and "unformat", but savoring another predicting an imminent collapse of the ruble is a good topic for the story. The information field creates images, including the image of the country in which we live. And then the image presses on our consciousness. It's time to correct the image and get rid of the image of a country that produces nothing.
Innoprom-2015 recently ended in Yekaterinburg - and this event is a bit like a parade of modern military equipment on Red Square. In our age, wars are fought mainly over sales markets and mainly by economic methods.
We make the best weapons in the world, and now it's time to make our civilian products as famous, recognizable and desirable as our weapons. The state is moving in this direction. For example, the state corporation Rostec, which has already earned a reputation as an excellent weapons manufacturer, has set itself the goal of becoming a world leader in several segments of civilian products, with a special focus on developments, in which electronic, nano- and biomaterials, as well as technology with software management.
In a way, Innoprom is a showcase of the potential of our companies and an opportunity to see what our friends from different countries can do. The spectacle turned out to be impressive!
Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov very clearly explained why this exhibition was organized:
We purposefully create preconditions under which Russian and foreign companies will unite their efforts and increase the level of technologies for a joint struggle for sales markets. The Forum opens up large-scale prospects for cooperation in this direction.
The minister said - the minister did. Several very interesting contracts were signed at Innoprom, which will open new sales markets for Russian enterprises and their allies. For example, a trilateral agreement was concluded between VSMPO-AVISMA, Boeing and UrFU, under which the signatories will develop, produce and introduce into production titanium alloys with unique quality characteristics. Boeing, apparently, did not hear about the isolation of Russia. The British Rolls-Royce Corporation also joined the queue for Russian titanium alloys.
At Innoprom, a real breakthrough was recorded on the Argentine markets. Uralmash will supply Argentine oilmen with specialized equipment, Power Machines will supply power plants for the Argentine hydroelectric power station Chiuido, and, finally, the main news: a joint venture for the production of KAMAZ trucks will be created in Argentina.
By the way, about KAMAZ trucks. I'm sure many of you have seen stories about the so-called "Google car" - an unmanned vehicle that the American company "Google" is working on. But few people know that KAMAZ, a Russian company that is part of the state corporation Rostec, is also engaged in car drones and even presented at Innoprom a project for the development of a distributed network of vehicle management without a driver in Russia. It's amazing, but we often fail to notice that our state-owned companies often keep up with the most innovative companies in other countries.
The Russian auto industry pleases with its development. You no longer have to blush for Russian cars, and they look at the level of the best foreign competitors in a similar price range. AvtoVAZ, another company to which the state is involved through the state corporation Rostec, has brought its new Lada Vesta to Yekaterinburg, which is to be put into production soon. The novelty made a good impression on the journalists and guests of the exhibition.
As a supporter of the struggle for the digital sovereignty of our country, I was especially pleased with another exhibit - the Tavolga monoblock. The United Instrument-Making Corporation, part of Rostec, together with the T-Platforms company, has presented a special “protected version” of this Russian monoblock, which is designed to work in the defense sector and in state-owned companies. It remains to wait for 2016, when the production cycle will be fully established in Russia using Russian Baikal-M processors.
In order for our industry to continue to delight us with new achievements, we need money for research and the creation of new industries. It became clear at Innoprom that there would be money. For example, the State Fund for the Promotion of Innovations and the Government of the Sverdlovsk Region signed an agreement on the division of labor in the field of support for the Ural industrialists who are engaged in new technologies. Regional officials will have to provide conditions for the launch of new industries, and the Foundation will allocate money for research in the form of grants from 400 thousand to 20 million rubles.
Thanks to the efforts of the Industry Development Fund of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, even medium-sized companies are already getting access to loans at 5% per annum. The first billion rubles have already been allocated for the creation of 4 import-substituting industries.
Our country still has a lot of work towards becoming an industrial superpower, but exhibitions such as Innoprom show that we have political will, human potential, serious partners and the necessary resources to achieve our goals. We have reasons to be optimistic about the future.
See you at the next Innoprom!
