The State Corporation "Rosatom" at the thematic "Atomic Week" within the framework of the international exhibition "Astana EXPO-2017" presented non-nuclear technologies to foreign partners - electricity generation facilities operating on the basis of renewable energy, and a number of non-energy products related to medicine, agriculture and information technology.

President of the company "Rusatom - International Network", a division of Rosatom responsible for expanding the presence of the state corporation abroad, Alexander Merten spoke in an interview with TASS about the advantages of Rosatom's non-nuclear products and plans for the construction of renewable energy sources (RES) facilities.

Alexander Alexandrovich, Rosatom, within the framework of the nuclear theme week at Astana EXPO-2017, paid great attention to the presentation of its non-nuclear products. Why does the state corporation pay great attention to this area of ​​activity?

Our main product - the construction and operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) - is well known to everyone. Here Rosatom firmly occupies a leading position in the global market. As part of Atomic Week, we also presented our non-nuclear and non-energy products.

The Rosatom state corporation includes a machine-building division - the Atomenergomash holding, which produces equipment for both nuclear and non-nuclear industries, for example, for gas and petrochemicals and thermal energy. Rosatom also has an engineering division - the ASE group of companies, which is engaged in engineering both the construction of nuclear power plants and any complex engineering facilities. They have developed and tested Multi D technology, which allows virtual control of design, procurement, construction time and budget execution of complex engineering facilities in various industries. Rosatom has divisions that use nuclear technologies in medicine and agriculture and are engaged in the development of renewable energy.

Now we see great interest in the world in the development of wind energy. We have something to tell in this area as well. Rosatom, having won competitions for the construction of wind farms with a total capacity of 970 MW in Russia until 2024, becomes a leader in the development of wind generation in our country.

The Hungarian enterprise "Atomenergomash" - Ganz Engineering and Energetics Machinery (Ganz EEM) - has developed a mini-hydroelectric power plant in a container. The first contract for its installation has already been concluded.

- What areas of development of cooperation with Kazakhstan do you currently see?

Our cooperation with Kazakhstan has been successfully developing for a long time. For many years now, we and our partners, the Kazatomprom company, have been working in Kazakhstan. There are five joint ventures that mine uranium using underground leaching. Moreover, production costs are among the lowest in the world. We are also collaborating on a project to create a low-enriched uranium bank in Kazakhstan. In addition, Kazatomprom is our co-shareholder of the Uranium Enrichment Center, created in Russia on the basis of the production site of the world's largest uranium enrichment enterprise - the Ural Electrochemical Combine (UECC).

We see interest on the part of Kazakhstan in creating centers for irradiation of agricultural products; a corresponding agreement with the Antares group of companies was signed as part of Atomexpo 2017, held in June in Moscow. There is interest in nuclear medicine, gas and petrochemical equipment, and the construction of wind farms and mini-hydroelectric power plants in the country.

We regard Kazakhstan as one of our main partners. We have a single customs territory, and from an economic point of view, our cooperation can be quite interesting and mutually beneficial.

Could you tell us more about the prospects for cooperation with Kazakhstan on the development of generation based on renewable energy sources?

The leadership of Kazakhstan has adopted a plan to develop renewable energy sources and increase their share in the country’s energy balance to 50% by 2050. The country has all the prerequisites for the development of renewable energy sources: more favorable tariffs for electricity generated by renewable energy sources - both wind power and hydropower, and there are climatic conditions for this. In the south of Kazakhstan there are good water resources, mountain rivers, where our mini-hydroelectric power plants can be used very well and efficiently.

The development of renewable energy generation has a positive effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, but it is also necessary to develop more stable generation, which, regardless of weather conditions, could provide a stable energy supply to the population and enterprises of the country. It is very good that Kazakhstan is going to develop carbon-free energy in the country as part of the implementation of the Paris Agreements, which provide for the reduction of CO2 emissions; it would be logical to develop nuclear energy, which can provide basic generation.

We and our Kazakh partners have been discussing the possibility of building a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan for quite some time. In 2018, a strategy on this issue will be adopted in Kazakhstan. We hope that in the end Kazakhstan will decide to develop nuclear energy and industry, especially since there are all the prerequisites for this: its own uranium mining base, the Ulba Metallurgical Plant - a complex for the production of uranium products, participation in the Uranium Enrichment Center. We, in turn, are ready to offer them our new technologies in the construction and operation of nuclear power plants. You know that Russia has already put into commercial operation the world's only generation 3+ power unit at the Novovoronezh NPP, fast neutron power units, and the Breakthrough project is being implemented, which will make the fuel cycle closed. I think that our new technologies may also be of interest to Kazakhstan, given that the first fast neutron reactor was built and operated in Kazakhstan, in Aktau, while providing the entire city with fresh water.

By calling for the development of nuclear energy, we are in no way opposing nuclear energy to renewable energy sources, otherwise Rosatom would not be building wind farms. What we're saying is that these are complementary components of carbon-free energy.

- What other countries are of interest to Rosatom regarding the development of wind energy?

We work all over the world, in the field of non-nuclear products we are open to cooperation with all countries. The construction of wind farms is possible in any country where there are prerequisites for this and availability of free territory. Let me give you an example: to build a power unit of a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1200 MW, you need 1 square kilometer, for wind farms of the same power you will need an area comparable to the area of ​​​​the city of Brussels, and for a solar station with a capacity of 1200 MW you need the territory of the entire Andorra.

At Atomexpo 2017, we signed framework agreements on cooperation with a number of countries, including in the field of wind generation. If they decide to build wind farms, we will take part in tenders. Of course, our plans for developing cooperation are not limited to this. We always offer our partners our main product - the construction of nuclear power plants.

How is Rosatom's cooperation developing with Vietnam, which has decided to curtail its nuclear program and freeze the construction of nuclear power plants? Could this be a reason for more active development of cooperation in the construction of renewable energy facilities in this country?

We respect the decision made by the Vietnamese leadership. And we are ready to resume dialogue as soon as the government of the country makes such a decision.

At the same time, nuclear power plants are not all that Rosatom sells on the world market. At this stage, we are developing cooperation in the construction of the Center for Nuclear Science and Technology in Vietnam, in accordance with the cooperation agreement signed in 2011. A memorandum of understanding on the implementation plan for this project was signed on June 29 in Moscow. Once the preliminary feasibility study of the project is approved by the Vietnamese government, consultations will be held on the terms of financing the project. In addition, it is expected to develop a plan for further cooperation in the development of Vietnam's nuclear infrastructure. Also, with our participation, the Nuclear Energy Information Center has been created in the country, whose task is to educate in the field of nuclear energy and nuclear technology, and to popularize technical education. We hope that this work, among other things, will be the main one so that Vietnam will one day return to the issue of the need to build a nuclear power plant.

- Do you have any idea when Rosatom can start building wind farms abroad?

We are currently engaged in organizing the production of turbines for wind farms together with our partner, the Dutch company Lagerwey. By 2020, we must commission a wind farm with a capacity of 610 MW in Adygea and the Krasnodar Territory, and another 360 MW in Adygea, the Krasnodar Territory and the Kurgan Region by 2024. Absolutely nothing prevents us from expanding our markets and negotiating the introduction of this product abroad. But first, it would be advisable to obtain relevant references, as we do in nuclear energy.

Now foreign countries are showing great interest in wind energy, including Kazakhstan. I do not rule out that we will be able to negotiate on the construction of wind farms abroad in parallel with the construction of wind turbines in Russia.

At the end of last year, Rosatom entered into the first contract for the supply and installation of mini-hydroelectric power plants in Georgia. When will the contract be completed?

Currently, the fulfillment of this contract depends not only on us, but also on our clients. In accordance with the agreement, they had to carry out hydrogeology and select the site necessary for the installation of a mini-hydroelectric power station. Once these activities are completed, we will be able to place the installation.

In general, there is quite a lot of interest in this product, in almost all countries of the world. Active negotiations are currently underway on supplies to Southeast Asia and Africa. We are actively working on this issue with Kazakhstan. There are companies that would like to become distributors of our products - we have already signed a strategic agreement with a South African company. The most important thing is that mini-hydroelectric power plants, due to their low power, do not involve the construction of a dam or global structures and are classified as “green” energy.

- What volume of foreign orders does Rosatom plan to receive for ten years in advance based on the results of 2017?

Let me remind you that at the end of 2016, the ten-year portfolio of foreign orders amounted to more than $133 billion. Every year we face an ambitious task - to increase the volume of our long-term order portfolio. General Director of the Rosatom state corporation Alexey Evgenievich Likhachev has already said earlier that in 2017 Rosatom expects the portfolio of foreign orders to grow by 5.3% - up to $140 billion.

The portfolio is growing due to new clients, new orders, including through the sale of new products on the world market. It should be noted that foreign companies are showing interest in our nuclear power plant construction technologies - we are the only one in the world to put into operation a generation 3+ power unit, which fully complies with the increased requirements of the IAEA as a result of the “post-Fukushima” events. Competitors do not have such a product, and clients are interested in building a power unit with the most modern characteristics in the field of economics and safety.

- Does Rusatom - International Network have any plans to expand its international presence network?

Today, there are 11 regional centers operating in the world, which together constitute an industry complex of Rosatom, designed to support Rosatom subsidiaries in the international markets in promoting their products and services. Today we are not considering opening additional regional centers. We can only think about creating an additional office if we have large projects. Then an additional country office can be opened within the regional center. For example, in Prague there is a regional center for Central Europe, but at the same time there is a country office in Budapest, because we are implementing a large project there - Paks 2. Currently, Rosatom regional centers cover almost all regions of the world, in accordance with the geography of our presence; we do not plan to open new ones in the very near future.

Interviewed Olga Dedyaeva

General Representative of Rosatom in Ukraine Alexander Merten: Rosatom has never stopped supplying nuclear fuel to Ukrainian nuclear power plants

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Relations between Russia and Ukraine today are strained, which may call into question the implementation of many projects in the economic sphere, including in the nuclear sector. However, in an interview with UNIAN, the General Representative of Rosatom State Corporation in Eastern Europe, Alexander Merten, said that political differences will not affect the company’s activities in Ukraine. Rosatom is ready to fulfill all previously assumed obligations to Ukrainian partners.

General Representative of Rosatom in Ukraine Alexander Merten

Alexander Alexandrovich, information has appeared in the media that Russia will not fulfill its obligations to supply nuclear fuel to Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Please comment on this situation.

This information is completely untrue. The Rosatom Corporation and all the enterprises that are part of it, despite political or other disagreements, have always ensured the fulfillment of their obligations and the terms of the signed agreements. This principle has been and remains fundamental in the activities of Rosatom. We have not for a second stopped our cooperation and interaction with Ukrainian partners - NNEGC Energoatom, the state concern Nuclear Fuel and other enterprises. We are fulfilling all our obligations to supply nuclear fuel, equipment, materials, carry out work and provide services at Ukrainian nuclear power plants on schedule.

- But there was information that Russia had introduced a ban on the supply of nuclear fuel to Ukraine.

There was a ban not on the supply, but on the transit of nuclear fuel through the territory of Ukraine to other countries. And this order was issued not by the Russian side, but by the Ukrainian side. At the beginning of February, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we received a notification from the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine about the suspension of the transportation of nuclear materials through the territory of Ukraine and the introduction of a temporary ban on this type of transportation. I am sure that when the situation on the territory of Ukraine normalizes, the State Nuclear Research Institute of Ukraine will lift all the forcedly imposed restrictions.

It is on the basis of all this that Rosatom, represented by its fuel holding JSC TVEL, began to consider alternative ways of supplying nuclear fuel to our partners. So, reports in some media about an alleged ban on the part of Russia on the supply of fuel to Ukrainian nuclear power plants are not only untrue, but also have a provocative nature, which at the moment, in my opinion, is unacceptable.

- What is the current situation with the supply of fuel to Ukrainian nuclear power plants?

Ukrainian nuclear power plants are provided with fresh nuclear fuel according to the approved schedule, without failures. By the way, this is also stated in the statement of our partner, NNEGC Energoatom, which they posted today. The situation is absolutely normal. Rosatom in general and TVEL in particular have not given and do not intend to give reason to doubt that all undertaken obligations will be fulfilled accurately and on time. Ukrainian stations have been uninterruptedly supplied with nuclear fuel for more than 30 years, and during this time there have never been any failures.

- How do you see the future presence of Rosatom in Ukraine?

The corporation has operated and will continue to operate in Ukraine. Together with Ukrainian partners, we are implementing important large-scale projects. We are talking about the construction of a plant for the production of nuclear fuel in Ukraine, the completion of the third and fourth power units of the Khmelnitsky NPP, and cooperation in power engineering. By the way, Rosatom won the tender for the completion of X-3/X-4 back in 2008, when Yulia Tymoshenko was Prime Minister of Ukraine. We continue to purchase Ukrainian uranium, which is further used, among other things, for the production of nuclear fuel for Ukrainian nuclear power plants. The Rosatom representative office continues to operate in Ukraine, which is the regional Eastern European office of the corporation, which once again emphasizes the huge volume of our joint work. Once again I want to emphasize: we are not involved in politics, we are engaged in business - mutually beneficial and mutually beneficial. And we hope that in the near future passions on the territory of Ukraine will subside and the situation will stabilize. We are interested in a stable economic situation in Ukraine.

Rosatom General Director Alexey Likhachev discussed the current situation in the industry with representatives of the personnel reserve over breakfast. Now such meetings will become regular.
19 heads of Rosatom enterprises and divisions, who prepared the best projects during training in the personnel reserve under the Dostoyanie program, were invited to a business breakfast. At the meeting, they discussed the tasks facing the state corporation and ways to solve them. Participants talked about the interaction of enterprises, cost and profit centers. Business breakfasts will be held at least once a quarter. “Such meetings are very important for understanding the role of the reserve,” says Ekaterina Rakhmankina, head of Rosatom’s personnel department. “The reservists are 100% supportive and ready to implement the changes announced at the leadership conference.”
DIRECT SPEECH
Alexander Merten
President of Rusatom - International Network
- Breakfast took place in a very kind, relaxed atmosphere. And this tone was initially set by the general director; colleagues - and some were very worried before the start of breakfast - took it up with pleasure. At the meeting they drank coffee and tea, ate cheesecakes and had a conversation. They discussed the results of the conference of industry leaders, the plan of changes voted for by enterprise leaders, tasks for the near future and ways of developing Rosatom in the medium term. I liked the frankness and sincere interest of the participants. Of course, such conversations with the CEO are very important for managers at different levels. This is an opportunity to directly ask any questions and discuss them right there among like-minded people. Meetings like this bring us closer together and make our team truly united. The result of the discussion of pressing problems in the framework of interaction with foreign partners and clients was the order of Alexey Likhachev for RMS and the HR Policy Department of Rosatom: to hold a conference on the peculiarities of working in foreign markets in various regions and countries. Considering that our regional centers have already developed significant material in this area, this will be useful to our colleagues from the divisions that are involved in foreign contracts.
Leos Tomicek
Senior Vice President for EPC projects in Africa, Latin America and the CIS, RusatomOverseas
- The industry management and Alexey Evgenievich personally attaches high priority to the successful implementation of the signed package of contracts for the construction of nuclear power plants abroad. The big challenge is Finland, with which the contract was signed in 2013. Construction of a nuclear power plant is underway in Belarus. We expect that projects in Egypt and Hungary will be launched this year. Intensive work is underway in Bangladesh, China, and India. We work in parallel on many sites, and such a large number of foreign construction projects requires efforts from every link - designers, builders, installers, commissioners, etc. We need to attract other companies, develop such forms of cooperation as partnerships and alliances in Russia and abroad. Rusatom Overseas also faces serious challenges. We need a breakthrough in Jordan - this year we want to reach basic agreements and bring the project to an investment decision. Another challenge is the development of nuclear science centers and small nuclear power plants. We are trying to strengthen our work in these areas in order to achieve a significant share in global markets.
Konstantin Vergazov
Vice President for Innovative Development, TVEL
- Of course, such meetings are necessary. For the head of a state corporation, this is an opportunity to immerse himself in the problems of the industry through communication with people who are directly related to the main activity, to look at development processes through the eyes of colleagues. And for us - an opportunity to learn first-hand about the strategic plans and objectives of Rosatom. During the conversation, Alexey Evgenievich spoke about global processes, industry development trends, market challenges and tasks for the future. With a current portfolio of foreign orders of $130 billion, we have 35 units under construction abroad. In this regard, I remember the phrase of Alexey Evgenievich: “Either we do it, or nothing will happen.” Development for us is the only path, and on this path the main risks are the timing and cost of completing the work. Overcoming risks is impossible without reforms, without a restructuring of consciousness and flexibility of action.
Evgeniy Salkov
General Director of RusatomService
- At the meeting, Alexey Evgenievich shared his experience, talked about how he received an offer to become the head of Rosatom, his attitude towards the values ​​of the state corporation, and outlined his personal challenge associated with the construction of nuclear power plants abroad. I especially remember Alexey Evgenievich’s story about his visit to Sarov to the enterprise where his father worked. He is very grateful to the team for showing him his workplace and photographs of his father, and telling him about his career.
The meeting was useful in that the CEO spoke clearly about the latest initiatives, in particular about the Horizon project, and about the challenges that he faces as an industry leader. This was interesting, because the vector of development of the state corporation, the vector of the formation of Rosatom as a global international company, becomes clear.

"Rosatom outpost"

The industry has long heard of “efficiency”, “production system” and “single team”. Also – “new markets”. It seems we haven't forgotten anything. However, values ​​are values, but if every division, every enterprise and every individual employee does not follow them, they will fade, lose meaning and generally fade into the shadows. About how to be a united team and fight for every contract, even if it is not in the millions; Alexander Merten, President of Rusatom International Network, told us how to save on business trips and effectively conduct negotiations via video conference.

Today, Rosatom’s international network consists of 11 regional offices. Is the web spread? Is this an already existing business network working in the interests of all enterprises in the industry?

One of our main goals is to gain direct access to information in countries of commercial interest to our industry. Therefore, it is important for us to have a physical presence in all these regions. Today there are 11 centers of Rosatom’s international network: they are located in North and South America, southern Africa, the Middle East, Europe and so on. De jure, all regional centers managed by the Rusatom International Network (RMN) private enterprise are registered as our subsidiaries, and this year we are completing their actual opening with offices, employees and infrastructure.

We provide information on international markets to the entire industry, divisions and the state corporation itself, in all areas of activity of interest to Rosatom. We have several industry-wide competencies, such as industry-wide marketing. We also promote any products and services that are produced by Rosatom companies and enterprises and that can be sold on international markets. We support such areas of activity of our divisions as: design and construction of nuclear power plants, their fuel supply, service, supply of equipment for thermal power plants and petrochemicals, promote the development of our nuclear medicine and support sales of isotope products. In short, we work for the entire industry.

Therefore, KPI indicators for RMS employees take into account the total portfolio of foreign orders, total revenue in foreign markets, as well as the total portfolio of Rosatom orders for new products. As we know, Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko recently outlined three vectors for the development of the industry: international markets, new products and cost. The first two vectors are our specialization, here we must actively help our divisions develop.

- Do you promote the products offered by the divisions, or do you partly act as a customer?

We depend on the divisions in terms of product availability and its cost, but, in turn, we formulate a task for the divisions, informing them what product is in demand today in foreign markets. We provide guidelines on competitive offers. And since our domestic market has declined for obvious reasons, then, as Serey Vladilenovich said, we need to reorient ourselves to international markets. Today, the share of foreign currency earnings in the general balance sheet of the state corporation is almost 50%, and our main goal is to strengthen and strengthen Rosatom’s position in international markets. In the context of the devaluation of the ruble, every dollar received abroad is important to us. That is why Rosatom management considers it necessary to diversify products and services supplied for export, without confining itself to the traditional product line only at large nuclear power plants. After all, not all countries have the money to build nuclear power plants. Today we are somewhat limited in our ability to provide government funding for our foreign construction projects, although they have an unconditional effect on the Russian economy. After all, a loan allocated to another country for the design and construction of stations using our technologies is returned to us in the form of an order and payment for our work.

- What other tasks do regional RMS centers perform?

In addition to cross-industry international marketing and promotion of products and services of Rosatom enterprises, we deal with all foreign PR, participating in exhibitions, seminars, as well as in covering the industry in local media. We carry out work on foreign PR projects, closely interacting with the Rosatom Communications Department, as well as with divisions, based on their tasks in specific regions.

Our main task is business interests! As Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko says, we are not involved in politics, two things are important to us: the safety of our technologies and mutual benefit in terms of interaction with our foreign clients and partners. They must understand that they are buying a quality product at a good price, and for us it is important that we deliver a quality product and receive foreign exchange earnings. And the well-deserved reputation of Rosatom as a responsible and reliable partner is very important for us, as it is important for our customers and partners. We can (and do) many projects in partnership with our foreign colleagues. We can make the same floating nuclear power plants, for example, in partnership with foreign shipbuilding companies. And in this regard, RMS is a kind of “window” for communication with foreign partners in the interests of Rosatom.

It turns out that any industry enterprise that has a promising export project can offer you to implement it?

Moreover, since our management company, RMS, is financed in a targeted manner by our parent company, Atomenergoprom, before receiving funds to promote the products and services of industry enterprises, we must prepare a work program for RMS, which includes projects proposed, among other things and divisions. This program of activities of RMS and our RCs is being coordinated with the divisions before being approved by the management of Rosatom. We calculate how much money we will need to promote these projects, and after that we are allocated funds for the implementation of the program. Then this money goes to our regional centers, which provide the necessary actions to promote the products and services of enterprises that are part of the Rosatom State Corporation.

Another of our competencies is coordinating the activities of industry companies and enterprises in international markets. We are an independent channel of information for Rosatom management regarding the work of our enterprises in international markets. And if somewhere the management organization needs to intervene and correct their work, we ask you to do so. For example, a tender has been announced abroad for the supply of a certain product that is produced by several of our enterprises. Situations often arose when several of our companies tried to enter the tender on their own, creating difficulties for each other, instead of organizing a consortium, complementing each other with competencies and coming up with a common proposal. After all, in the end, the proceeds still flow to one final shareholder - AEPK/Rosatom. Therefore, we are engaged in coordination, helping colleagues to agree with each other and build “horizontal interaction.”

Many companies that are part of Rosatom have their own representative offices abroad. Is there a duplication of functions between them and RMS? For example, the same Techsnabexport, which has its offices in various countries. How is the interaction between representative offices abroad?

Historically, Techsnabexport (international name TENEX) is actually an international trading house in the field of selling enrichment services. They have a built-in structure, and there is no point in breaking it, especially when it is connected with existing contracts. They effectively perform their functions and tasks. This is their business, and we don't interfere with it. After all, we do not conclude contracts, but only facilitate their conclusion. But in those territories where TENEX does not have representative offices, in Latin America for example, we are ready to help establish contacts and find partners. And we are already doing this in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. At the same time, the back-end area is a new task for Techsnabexport, as an integrator company. Therefore, in this area we work with them all over the world and help even where they have their offices. We do not interfere with each other, but on the contrary, we complement their competencies with our own. In addition, we cooperate with individual subsidiaries (for example, in South Korea) of Techsnabexport, where they perform the functions of our country office at the corresponding regional center.

I would say our main task is to create synergy. RMS has regional expertise, since our offices employ citizens of the countries where the regional centers are located. Knowledge of specific markets and companies operating in these markets. The divisions have product expertise; they know all the tactical and technical characteristics and cost of the product. It is at the intersection of these competencies that synergy arises. We know the market locally, they know what they are selling. By uniting on these issues, we achieve success. And we already have more than one example of such successful interaction, both last year and this year.

What other indicators are used to evaluate the success of the RMS? In addition to concluded contracts and foreign revenue, are there any other informal criteria?

Cost reduction. Cost reduction is a vector that is important for the entire industry. Formally, of course, this is not our direct task. Reducing production costs is primarily the task of divisions. But we are also working in this direction, because cost is not only about production. We reduce the price of export products by reducing operating costs. For example, the costs of business trips for division employees are ultimately included in the price of the product.

How do we help reduce it? First: with the opening of our regional centers, many divisions closed their representative offices and branches abroad (this work continues at the present time), since we provide them with the full range of services that their representative offices provided. Next: business trips. Why fly for preliminary meetings if we have our offices, whose employees can meet with potential clients, conduct negotiations, and understand whether there is a need for further contacts. All preliminary meetings can be conducted by our regional centers.

Do you understand what it’s like to fly to Latin America? Five people from the same division are flying just to understand whether their offer is interesting or not. If the answer is no, they fly away. And the funds spent on the business trip are ultimately included in the cost of the product. In addition, most negotiations can be conducted via video conferencing installed in each of our offices; all preliminary issues can be resolved online, and for this you do not need to fly to another country.

All this seriously reduces costs. If you count all the tickets, hotels, transport, travel cards, business trips, you will come up with a serious amount. According to our calculations, thanks to the closure of foreign representative offices and branches in connection with the emergence of regional network offices and the reduction in the number of business trips of division employees, optimization of hotel costs (and our DCs have already concluded agreements with some large hotels to provide corporate discounts to all Rosatom enterprises), support costs international activities across the entire industry could be reduced by up to 30% by 2018! And this will ultimately partially reduce the cost of production.

- Is it important for an employee who speaks the local language?

We have staff in all regional centers who speak local languages. They are either citizens of these countries or Russians who have lived there for many years. The core competence of our employees is communication. These are marketers who know the nuances of sales processes, know how to negotiate, understand the local market and have sales experience, primarily in the energy field. For example, the vice president of the office in Brazil is Sergey Krivolapov, a man who has lived and worked in energy areas in Brazil for more than 20 years. Of course, he has connections there and an understanding of local customs and the market, and he is fluent in Portuguese. We have such people in all regional centers. Or our RVP in Western Europe - Andrey Rozhdestvin, who has worked in the industry for a long time (he was vice president at TVEL), who speaks excellent French and English, which allows him to easily communicate with customers and partners in Western Europe.

Sergei Kiriyenko said that all enterprises should train a certain caste of specialists who know the market, and every enterprise should think about this. Why do this when there is RMS?

Indeed, the task set by the management is such that every enterprise engaged in foreign economic activity has people who know the language, have the skills of conducting international negotiations, understand how to behave in a cross-cultural environment, and so on. The first deputy general director of the state corporation, Kirill Borisovich Komarov, became the customer within the industry of a large program for training such personnel in all divisions and enterprises of Rosatom. And the first meeting of the Governing Council on such a program has already taken place. Training of industry specialists under this program will begin in the near future at the Rosatom Corporate Academy.

RMS is not directly involved in concluding contracts. We only prepare the customer for a “meeting with beauty”, conduct pre-contract negotiations, clarify the interests, needs and capabilities of the potential customer. The contract is concluded by the one who produces the product or provides the service. That is why Rosatom enterprises need people who know how to do this.

Firstly, there are few of us, RMS employees, and they are not going to clone us at all. We do not intend to expand the staffing of our regional centers. On average, we employ 8–9 people in regional centers. This is enough to cover the region. Our main difference is that we work for the entire industry at the same time, across the entire line of products and services, and work with regional coverage. Even if our regional center is open in a specific city, for example in Rio de Janeiro, this does not mean that it does not work in Argentina. The same contract in Bolivia is largely the merit of the RMS office. If the center’s employees had not flown there, negotiated, or met personally with Bolivian President Evo Morales, Rosatom would not have been able to sign the intergovernmental agreement in March of this year. Of course, at a certain stage, our employees were joined by colleagues from VHI and RAOS Inc. (as an IR integrator) and teamwork allowed us to prepare the IGA for signing in the shortest possible time. We are also working on this project as a team now. This was the case with the IR project in Indonesia.

Our task is to trodden the paths along which Rosatom companies then come, in this case Rusatom Overseas Inc., which is an integrator in the field of large stations and research reactors.

- Do you collect feedback from clients and customers after the contract is concluded?

Certainly! We are always there. The client always knows who to contact if something suddenly goes wrong on a project implemented by Rosatom companies. If for some reason the client is not heard, he can come to our office, which is a window where he can always turn. It happens that the client is not always satisfied with what the contractor does for him, and the contractor cannot always look at the situation critically, in which case we act as a kind of arbiter. We are a young company and we learn from our own mistakes. After all, Rosatom never had such a network. We created it with our own hands, in some places we went blind, in others we learned from large international companies. In addition, we, being directly subordinate to the management of Rosatom, can always convey important information directly. This is important for the client. We are a kind of ear into which the client can express his complaints or suggestions and be guaranteed to be heard. In this regard, we perform the function of account management to support projects, provide assistance and support: so that, first of all, our companies do not have penalties; that all work is carried out in a timely manner; so that the client always knows that he is understood and heard. So that this ultimately works for the reliable reputation of Rosatom. We are such a remote office of Rosatom in foreign markets, its outpost.

- What interesting projects are you working on now?

We are now actively promoting Indonesia's entry into the development of large-scale nuclear energy. There are plans to build an 8-unit nuclear power plant in South Africa, and our office in Johannesburg is currently working on this. In addition, the office in South Africa actively cooperates with Nigeria, Zambia, Tanzania and other countries of Central and Southern Africa, which have announced the development of nuclear energy in their countries. Our regional centers in Western and Central Europe are engaged in promoting the competencies of our companies in the field of mechanical engineering (AEM), service and equipment supply (Rusatom Service). Assistance in the implementation of contracts in Hungary and Finland. The regional center in Eastern Europe is providing assistance on a project in Belarus (NPP - BelAES and RAOS Inc - IR), entering new markets with AEM products in the field of heat and hydropower, petrochemicals (Israel, Georgia, Azerbaijan), helping in a difficult situation TVEL (Ukraine). We are also negotiating with Argentine partners about the possibility of building a station.

As strange as it may sound, our competitors can often become our partners. On the part of RMC, we give appropriate recommendations on where and how we can cooperate with competitors, complementing them with our competencies, and us with their competencies, enriching each other with knowledge and obtaining reference projects in different countries on mutually beneficial terms. Our task can be expressed by quoting the hero from the film “Prisoner of the Caucasus”: “The one who bothers us will help us.” Rosatom management approaches this issue with understanding, and where it is truly beneficial for Rosatom, it supports such an initiative.

How do you see the company's further development? You said that you do not see any practicality in expanding the staff of regional centers. So, is it advisable to focus efforts in other directions?

Where we considered it necessary to establish regional centers, we have already done so. In principle, the globe is covered by the Rosatom network, and we do not intend to expand our staff. The only thing we have envisaged in this direction is the possible emergence of country offices (representative offices) of regional centers in those countries where we will have large-scale projects. For example, a RC country office for the Middle East and North Africa may appear in Egypt.

Our main task is to increase the number of contacts, and these contacts should be transformed into contracts, and contracts into revenue.

Another important vector of development is promoting public acceptance of nuclear energy in the world. We are doing a lot of work in this direction together with the Communications Department of the state corporation, using our foreign information centers, organizing seminars and exhibitions where famous scientists and public figures talk about the safety of nuclear technologies. The more countries in the world where the level of public acceptance of nuclear energy increases thanks to our efforts, the higher the trust in Rosatom will be as an innovative leader in this industry, where we can make high-quality products and provide services. And the consequence of this will be new contracts for Rosatom enterprises. This will be our common success story!

Bulletin of Atomprom

Alexander Merten has been appointed President of Rusatom International Network CJSC, the company reported on September 2. Until now, the head of the company was Nikolai Drozdov, who combined this position with the post of director of the Department of International Business of the State Corporation Rosatom.

Before his appointment as president, A. Merten worked at Rusatom International Network CJSC as senior vice president - regional vice president for Central and Eastern Europe, and before that as vice president of Rusatom Overseas CJSC, representing the interests of the company in the territory Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova.

Taking office as President of JSC Rusatom - International Network, A. Merten noted that the company was given the task of “organizing an effective system of Rosatom’s global presence, both in terms of promoting products and services of all divisions, and for building partnerships with foreign companies " “One of our goals is to reduce industry costs for conducting foreign economic activity,” he clarified.

CJSC Rusatom - International Network was created to deploy and manage Rosatom regional centers. To date, such centers have been opened in Prague (area of ​​responsibility - Central Europe), Kyiv (Eastern Europe), Singapore (South-East Asia) and Johannesburg (Central and South Africa). “It is planned that in the future offices will operate in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, North and South America, Western Europe,” the company reports.