Russian plant will make fiberglass products

Fri, 25 July 2008

A joint venture between Germany’s Preiss-Daimler Group and Russian oil and gas producer OAO Tatneft is constructing a fiberglass products plant in the special economic zone of Alabuga.

The 60 million-euro ($94 million) project will launch a facility capable of turning out up to 45.6 million pounds of material and products per year. P-D Glasseiden GmbH of Oschatz, Germany will provide technology for manufacturing fireproof and other fiberglass-based products.

The venture will be near major petrochemical, automotive and other industrial enterprises, Almetyevsk, Russia-based Tatneft said in a news release. The plant also will be close to the region’s transport infrastructure. The joint venture, P-D Tatneft Alabuga Steklovolokno, aims to serve Russian markets including construction, automotive, shipbuilding and electrical. The plant also expects to export its products.

Tatneft said the new venture will help meet Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s challenge to Russian automakers to source 60 percent of their components from Russia by 2012. Wilsdruff, Germany-based P-D Group’s glass-fiber division has operations in Germany, France, Belgium, Britain and Latvia.