Elimination of equipment for scrap or desolation of enterprises remaining beyond the line of contact in the Donbas, perennial problems with rail transport or raw materials for the elderly, but trying to be young, the metal processing plants-on this side. Unstable world demand and prices, high level of competition - from all sides. No, there are bright glimpses: the exchange rate will smile at the exporting metallurgy, then the VAT will return when no one is waiting for it, but as a whole it is somehow not joyful.

However, most depressive stories about the state of the industry were born together with the independence of Ukraine. Back in the 90s of the last century it became clear that the wear level of many production facilities in metallurgy that we inherited from the collapse of the USSR is indecently high, and the level of applied technologies at enterprises is depressingly low. A couple of decades after this with the necessary modernization, the owners of metal enterprises fought, how could. Contradictory, at first glance, the statement makes sense: despite the money allocated for technical re-equipment, depreciation of fixed assets in the industry only grew. According to the State Enterprise "Ukrpromvneshexpertiza", last year the level of investments per tonne of produced steel per year was in Ukraine about 17-20 US dollars, while in the EU countries - 70 US dollars.

Particularly tight was for small businesses that did not have money for modernization but for ongoing production activities. Not all of them managed to find an effective owner. Yes, in fact, the most modernization is not so simple.

As the leading analyst of the Internet publication PROMETALL Artem Evdokimov noted, industrial revolutions are not so frequent, therefore, in the production of raw materials and primary metals, the whole modernization is reduced, in general, to the replacement of worn out equipment with a new and more modern. But in the production chain raw materials and semi-finished products are the cheapest, and the demand and prices for them are subject to the greatest fluctuations. Hence the call to invest in products of higher redistribution. Like, enough to be suppliers of raw materials, let's export already processed metals and products from them.

"It's only with the organization and the subsequent modernization of the production of end products that the most difficult. Here it is impossible to produce the same goods for decades without constant changes in its characteristics. The life cycle of the commodity itself can be sadly short for its manufacturer, investing at times significant funds in the organization of industrial production, "- said the expert..

And they work with different success in their niches, at best, minimizing transaction costs by organizing a vertically integrated structure. This is when everything in the hands of one owner - from the extraction of raw materials and its processing to the output of products. Then the owner himself decides who is in loss to be, and to whom the profit is proud, depending on the financial and market situation. But when there is a global recession, in which pocket is not a trifle with small items, there will not be bills there.

Metal between the past and the future Nevertheless, there is an exit, and not one. And some Ukrainian companies have learned to work effectively in an unfavorable environment.

Take for example, non-ferrous metallurgy, namely, the production of aluminum and its products. Of course, this metal is not accidentally mentioned. On the one hand, the most "produced" and demanded of all non-ferrous metals, with a steadily growing prospect due to the ever-increasing scope of its application. On the other hand, the flying ability of the prices for the "winged" metal is the same: they can take a steep peak and then climb a long time. In these conditions, even Chinese and Russian industrial monsters that produce primary aluminum, fever from time to time, and, of course, shakes everyone up the chain.

Therefore, domestic enterprises that work with aluminum, do not easily. Even at distant remaking, least dependent on raw material instability. Why talk about those who stand at the source.

By the way, about the origins. In the distant 1979 near the capital in the city of Brovary, the first in Ukraine plant for the production of aluminum profiles. During the 80s of the last century it became the only enterprise in the country that implemented the technology of production profiles in a full cycle with the use of wasteless technologies. And then two gloomy decades of falling and desolation followed. But, you see, the plant under the lucky star was born: in 2011 the company acquired a group of companies ALUMETA.

For a year and a half the new team managed to launch instrumental, foundry, press, galvanic and painting shops. In turn, it made it possible to produce aluminum profiles and building structures (today it is more than 8 thousand names of aluminum profiles of various directions and configurations). And even to produce consumer goods. After successful modernization of the plant, the plant works around the clock and successfully exports its products to more than 25 countries in Europe and the Middle East.

Components of success from Sergei Shapran We will try to consider the success story in more detail in order to understand how someone, in spite of everything,.

"There is, of course, a foundation, without which it is indispensable. It was necessary to revive the production in the main shops, due to which it was possible to develop further - pour billets of different diameters, apply galvanic protection coating on the products and t. Then the main directions were allocated to separate companies. This is how BRAZ CONSTRUCTION (the engineering company, the manufacturer of aluminum profile systems under the trade mark "BRAZCON"), BRAZ LINE (design, manufacture and sale of products made of aluminum, the leader in the segment for interior decoration of premises), ACORE DevelopmentGroup- (construction company) ", says the owner of Alumeta Group Sergey Shapran.

Sometimes open to themselves the release of new products helps unsatisfactory solution of ordinary issues related to the same modernization and re-equipment. Somehow in one of the shops of the plant decided to change the lamps, in particular, to switch from incandescent lamps to more economical LEDs. Invited experts, they all counted, and as a result, the amount was too big.

"We began to understand and understood that we are simply inflating prices, and unreasonably. For example, it was argued that less powerful LED fixtures require replacement wiring that withstood more powerful incandescent bulbs. I had to do everything myself, "- recalls Sergei Shapran.

So began the production of LED lighting systems for outdoor use. By the way, compared to traditional light sources, they save up to 70% of electricity, which is a great benefit for municipal services in towns and villages. The level of illumination is much higher.

We go from the opposite One more interesting development option - from the reverse, when an analysis of a segment of the market shows that there are prospects of entering it with their products. And then it starts the mechanism of its production - up to the development of unique technologies necessary for this.

Perhaps the most striking example of this - solar energy, which is rapidly developing, and, therefore, the need for batteries is constantly growing. Thus the bases for them are made both from a steel, and from aluminum. Of course, steel is cheaper than aluminum. Just rust it in the conditions of Ukraine actively begins in 5-6 years of operation, thereby making it necessary to replace the supports and other structures. With an average payback period of solar batteries of 7-9 years, more attractive is the use of non-corrosive aluminum.

According to the general director of the Brovary aluminum plant (BRAZ) Eduard Hayrapetyan, aluminum panels are needed for solar panels with special technical parameters. And they are achieved in two ways: it is either heat treatment of the profile (additional hardening), or for projects with increased load, a special type of alloy EN AW 6282. "Our own unique equipment, necessary for water cooling in the process of extrusion, allows us to achieve the specified technical parameters," the general director said..

Actually, according to experts, in Ukraine really corresponds to the requirements for solar energy only products BRAZ.

The metal produced at the enterprise was used in the construction of several solar stations in Ukraine, as well as in the construction of the first stage of a major project near Rechitsa (Belarus). By the way, this station (full capacity - 57.8 MW, total investment - 65 million. euro) is located in the Gomel region, some of which suffered from pollution during the Chernobyl catastrophe. Thus, land unsuitable for use in agriculture is not idle, but benefits. In Ukraine there are also talks on this topic, but they have not gone further.

Purposeful investment is the success of Brovarsky aluminum plant.

The variant of development from the opposite leads to another interesting effect, when modernization acquires a clear framework and characteristics. The enterprise does not have to invest in the re-equipment of everything and everything, equipment is purchased and technologies are developed for certain tasks. In this case, often the amount of investment is not as significant as with a wider coverage, so investments are more efficient.

All this applies to exports.

Knowledge of foreign markets, the fulfillment of all the conditions necessary for access to them, allows you to purchase the latest European equipment. We add qualified personnel to work with this equipment, we obtain international quality standards for products. That, in turn, facilitates the certification of products and its withdrawal to world markets.

Here it remains only to mention one more kind of investment - in effective management, not only domestic. The group of companies employs representatives of Poland, Romania, the countries of Transcaucasia and the Middle East.