Russian Coatings has always kept pace with the times, introduced new modern technologies for manufacture of high-quality products and remained the leader of the domestic paint industry. In 2008 Russian Coatings celebrates 170 years from its foundation and, in 2007, 100 years from the beginning of enamel manufacture.
Enamel manufacture commenced in 1907 when Nicolay Vakhrameev, a grandson of a third-guild merchant, A.Vakhrameev, the founder of Russian Coatings, purchased a Moscow paint factory that belonged to Trading House Kibbel and Kompany. Nicolay Vakhrameev decided to develop the production, but not in the Moscow region. He transferred the enterprise onto an existing site in Yaroslavl. Vakhrameev had the equipment from the paint-grinding shop (later it became the enamel shop) and the varnish and colour pigments shops transported to Yaroslavl. Along with the equipment, experts on paint grinding arrived in Yaroslavl from the capital. Thus, in 1907, the factory (later named Russian Coatings) started to manufacture enamels. By 1913 production had reached rather high output, compared to the standard at that time: 500 tons of paint and 200 tons of enamel per annum. Vakhrameev’s production was in demand and featured a high-quality product.
During the revolution and the civil war, Russia experienced an industrial crisis, which reflected on the manufacture of paint materials: output drastically decreased but, by 1928, was restored to its former figures. By 1932, 12% of total production was enamel and by 1938 this index made up 63%.
At the time of the Great Patriotic War, Russia was living under the motto “All for the front, all for the victory!”, therefore the factory had mastered the production for military purposes: paints in green-brown shades were predominantly in demand. In the post-war period some new equipment was brought from Germany by reparation acts. The high-capacity paint-grinding machines and ball mills were also installed. Production was updated by using synthetic varnishes and resins. Since 1946 the factory started to manufacture stoving enamels for the domestic motor industry. In 1955 a newly built synthetic resin shop enabled a significant increase in the production of enamels. The factory developed and mastered the first generation of ML-12 and ML-152 enamels.
The bead mills were put into operation in 1964. A curious fact is that the first bead mill (PM-100), which later became very popular, appeared for the first time in the USSR at our enterprise. It was brought directly from the First World Fair of industrial equipment where it had been purchased. Progressive for those times, this mill was intended to manufacture a primer.
The construction of the Volzhskiy Automobile Factory (AutoVAZ) in Tolyatti became a new stage in the development of the enamel shop and the Russian Coatings factory. Since 1968 until now, Russian Coatings (the former Victory of Workers) has been the main supplier of paint materials for Auto OEM and refinish. In order to provide the domestic industry with high-quality automotive coatings, Victory of Workers was reconstructed with significant investment of cash resources.
In 2003, new capacities for the production of automotive base coatings with metallic and pearl effects were put into operation in the enamel shop. These enamels were intended for auto OEM and refinish. Presently the enamel shop is furnished with a burning system for emission control, a solvent regeneration installation, etc. Now production improvement and output increase takes place with due consideration for the favourable effect on the environment and industrial safety in accordance with today’s demands.
Currently a part of the enamel shop is dedicated to a joint venture called DuPont-Russian Coatings. This was created in 2006 and is introducing technologies by the standards of DuPont, which is a partner of Russian Coatings.
In the course of its history, the enamel shop has been and still remains the basis of the industrial capacity of Russian Coatings. The enamel shop production makes up almost one third of the total factory output.
Vika, the New Colour System
In 2007, Russian Coatings presented its new colour system, Vika, to the auto refinish market. Vika was created together with DuPont and makes it possible to manufacture acrylic and base enamels to be used for repair of Russian, European, American and Asian cars. The colour documentation and database of the given coloration is usually renovated at least twice a year. In 2007 Russian Coatings began training of the colourists in its own Training Centre and on the base of the company’s partners.The DuPont Russian Coatings Joint Venture
John Shmorhun, the Regional Director of DuPont in East Europe, made a presentation at the 10th Annual Conference of the Adam Smith Institute “Russian Automotive Industry” held in Moscow. The main subject of this presentation was the introduction of DuPont as a research-and-production company that efficiently uses scientific investigations in the automotive industry and offers the most diverse product line among all the suppliers in this industry branch.The members of the conference, representing the leading domestic and international car producers in the Russian market, were presented with the latest achievements and plans of the subsidiary DuPont Russia, and of the joint venture DuPont Russian Coatings for 2007. “This successful example of cooperation with Russian partners demonstrates the serious intention of DuPont in the field of long-term and intensive development of business in the region,” said John Shmorhun.
INTERLACKOKRASKA 2007 Exhibition
The 11th specialized International Exhibition INTERLACKOKRASKA - 2007 took place in March 2007. Industrial customer interest in the fast-growing powder coatings segment has been increasing yearly. This interest was demonstrated by the quantity of visitors at the stand of the Yaroslavl Powder Coatings Plant. Our stand was remarkedly distinguished from the neighbours by its attendance; among the guests there were our constant customers as well as business partners from various regions of Russia and CIS countries.Within the framework of the Exhibition the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of RF and the Russian Chemists Association conducted a contest for the best paint material: Yaroslavl Powder Coatings Plant was awarded two medals. The golden medal was awarded for the development of epoxy-polyether paints and the silver for epoxy powder paints.
Russian Coatings Performance in 2006
By Valeriy Abramov, CEO | Russian CoatingsThe total volume sold by Russian Coatings is about 3.1 billion rubles. The production divisions have produced 48,302 tons of gross output including 34,770 tons of commodity output. The gross output comes up to 29,232 tons of paint materials, 2,586 tons of solvents, 16,484 tons of semi-finished varnishes and resins. Manufacture of semi-finished varnishes and resins decreased by 2,578 tons as a result of shift towards sales reduction of traditional PF varnishes. Domestic consumption of semi-finished materials remained at the previous year’s level. One of the dynamically developing production divisions of Russian Coatings is that of decorative water-dispersible materials, which produced 1,476 tons of paint in 2006 having trebled previous year production output.
In 2006, Russian Coatings, together with the DuPont Company, established the joint venture DuPont - Russian Coatings for the manufacture and sales of OEM materials. During the first year of joint performance Russian Coatings produced 7,363 tons of gross output for DuPont - Russian Coatings.
Sales of decorative and building paint materials made up about 26,276 tons that corresponded to the previous year level. Sales of car refinish materials, Vika, accounted for 5,762 tons, an increase of 12% over the previous year. It has already become a tradition that the highest growth figures apply to high-tech and new car refinish materials, i.e., 41% of growth for acrylic materials, 23% for metallic effect enamels and for putties, 36% over the previous year.
Sales of paint materials produced by Russian Coatings for certain groups of industrial consumers have increased by 15% in comparison with 2005. The road marking paint quantity sold increased by 50% more than during the previous year, and paints for railway transport Strela by 10%. Yaroslavl Powder Coatings Plant, being a part of Russian Coatings, has produced about 700 tons of powder paint, an increase by 72% over 2005. During last year the production of new types of powder paints started, and work was complete on searching new ways of supply and proceeding on that, and on new consumers from various branches of domestic industry.
Russian Coatings is the leader in production and sales of high-tech paint materials in general and the biggest paint company in Russia in particular.
