We’ll explain it in layman’s terms: how a small company can export. How Russian exports to China work Export with the most favorable conditions
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Russian export structure
Russia's exports in 2016, according to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, amounted to $285.7 billion, non-resource non-energy, according to REC calculations, - $109.1 billion. The share of non-resource exports in the total volume in 2016 increased noticeably, breaking a 12-year record and approaching 40% (38.2%). At the same time, exports at the end of the year decreased compared to 2015 by $57.8 billion, or 16.8%. This dynamics is associated with the market factor: prices for most Russian export goods decreased during the year. If we analyze situations without taking into account the price factor, a positive trend will be visible. According to REC calculations, in physical terms, Russia's total exports in 2016 grew by about 2%, and non-resource non-energy exports by more than 3%.
The main contribution to the negative dynamics of non-resource non-energy exports was made by chemical goods (46% decrease) and metal products (38%).
The structure of non-resource exports includes mechanical engineering (25.6%) and metallurgy (25.5%). Also significant shares fall on chemical products (19.1%), food (14%), timber and paper industry (7.3%), and precious metals (4.1%). Growth in value terms was shown by food (+6.8%), glass, ceramics and stone products (+6.1%), timber and paper products (+2.7%), precious metals and stones (+2.4%) . Increasingly, Russian technology companies are being identified that export services: IT solutions, software for increasing business efficiency, anti-virus programs, comprehensive business solutions - these are taken into account in separate statistics.
Non-resource non-energy exports of Russia
The first idea. Food
Food is a product that is always in great demand in the world; it is bought by both the highly developed United States and the small state of Rwanda.
Russia became the world's largest wheat exporter in 2016
The growth of global food trade, which has already exceeded $1.2 trillion, is a long-term global trend. Russia is also in this direction, increasing food exports to more than $15 billion in 2016 (+6.8% in value and +13.6% in quantity, according to REC calculations). We are talking about simple products that are traditional for us - grain, fish, sunflower oil and new meat and sugar, as well as ready-made food (confectionery products, canned food, drinks, pasta, ice cream, etc.).
For example, Russian chocolate and candies are purchased from 40 countries around the world from different regions. In just two years, China has become one of the main importers - there you can now see products under the brands “Red October”, “Yashkino”, “Slavyanka”, “Kolomenskoye” in many supermarkets. About 60% of the exports of United Confectioners (Red October, Rot Front, Babaevsky, etc.) go to the CIS; they also buy it from China, Australia and Iran. “KDV-Group” (brands “Yashkino”, “Slavyanka”, “3 crusts”, “Kirieshki”, “Babkiny sunflower seeds”) exports products to China, Poland and the Czech Republic. Recently, Mexico (Edelweiss company) has also been noted among the buyers of Russian confectioners. Russian companies that are part of international groups also export products - for example, the Vladimir Ferrero Russia factory supplies candies to Brazil and Poland.
According to the REC, in total in 2016, domestic confectioners supplied abroad 157 thousand tons of chocolate products worth $477 million.
The so-called basic food (grain, meat, sugar, vegetable oils), where export operations amount to tens and hundreds of thousands of tons per year, requires large investments (the state will help with this) and a balanced approach (do not skimp on good specialists, so as not to become a local Khrushchev). It is easier for a small business to try its hand at niche goods (honey, berries, spices and all the variety of ready-made products), where the ability to make it tasty, beautifully packaged and interestingly presented will come to the fore. For example, one of the brightest specific products in 2016 was coriander, the export of which Russia took 1st place in the world. You can also try yourself as an intermediary, organizing the trade process between our producers and foreign companies that are ready to import Russian products, fortunately there are many of both (this is confirmed by the experience of Russian Gastroweek tasting sessions held by the Russian Export Center in different countries of the world).
Idea two. Instruments and equipment
In the Western business environment there is an expression: “If you need one super-complex unique thing, turn to the Russians, if you need 10 identical things, never turn to the Russians.” Well, if it’s really not worth competing with China in churning out smartphones and electric kettles, then in the complex equipment market we have something to show the world.
Russia is one of the few powers with its own aerospace and nuclear engineering industries. A nuclear power plant, a nuclear icebreaker, an artificial Earth satellite, a manned spacecraft - all this was done for the first time in our country. A bit old? But we are still reaping the fruits of these achievements and are not standing still. For example, it was Russia that was the first to develop and implement a nuclear power plant project with post-Fukushima safety requirements.
Russia still has a reputation as a country of strong engineering and design thought. And this idea is embodied in production: lasers - to China, security systems and vending machines - to Europe, rocket engines and equipment for nanoresearch - to the USA. And these are just a few striking examples of our exports. In the field of instrumentation and equipment production, you can easily find a new niche by offering an interesting technical solution, and it is not necessary to invent it completely. In many cases, the client needs a machine, pump, furnace, device, machine to solve his specific problems, and here even small companies can give a head start to the global technology giants. And in the future, service will help the business, since the buyer is often interested in long-term relationships.
There are a number of successful examples of such technology businesses. For example, the SeaSort company supplies color sorters to Spain, France, Germany, Poland and other countries, the Unicum company supplies vending machines to Europe, and the Cryogenmash plant supplies gas liquefaction units to China and India.
Another interesting technological business case is the Russian company Yotto Group, which produces interactive 5D attractions ExoSkelet and ExoBox and supplies them to Europe, Latin America and Africa. In 2011, the company's engineers developed a unique technology called ExoFilm, thanks to which the cinema hall becomes interactive, allowing the viewer to control the plot of the film and accumulate bonuses using joysticks. The company also produces a flight simulator with 360° rotation - this attraction has practically no competitors in terms of the combination of capabilities and price.
Idea three. Woodworking
Fifty years ago, advanced humanity spoke of the age of steel and plastics; natural materials such as wood or cotton seemed to be irrevocably becoming a thing of the past. However, before even one generation had passed, the world became concerned about environmental friendliness, and everything natural began to have even greater value than before. Consumers of all categories need wooden houses, furniture, and household items.
Russia is lucky in this regard: we have the world's largest industrial wood resources. The forests contain universal pine and spruce, wear-resistant larch, birch ideal for plywood, durable oak and ash, and decorative species. Every year, more wood grows in our forests than is harvested - 3 times! This is a colossal potential, especially considering that modern forestry practices make it possible to organize efficient, environmentally friendly production even on the basis of a small plot.
Russia is one of the top five leading countries in the export of wood construction products - lumber, plywood, wood panels, building parts.
In 2016, supplies, according to REC calculations, amounted to about $5 billion, an increase of 4.3%. Russia has several timber-deficient markets nearby: East Asia, Kazakhstan, Central Asian republics, the Middle East, North Africa. But our products are in demand in Europe, North America, and even Australia - there is room for not only large businesses, but also small and medium-sized ones.
An interesting business case in this direction is the company “Modern Wood Processing Technologies”, which produces high-strength multi-layer laminated veneer lumber - Ultralam™ LVL (laminated veneer lumber). Production is carried out at the Talion Terra plant in the Tver region in the city of Torzhok. This is the largest plant of this profile in Europe with a capacity of 150 thousand m3 per year. Today, 75% of Ultralam's production volume is exported. The product is certified in many countries around the world and is supplied to 30 countries in all regions, and the largest buyers are Australia, the EU, Saudi Arabia and the USA.
Our positions in the export of wooden furniture, interior items, kitchen utensils and other consumer products are more modest. And here a sea of opportunities opens up, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. Siberia and taiga are global brands, and everyone understands that Russian wood is natural, high-quality, and worthwhile. All that's left to do is take advantage of it! For example, Russia is practically the only country from which China buys chopsticks, worth almost $10 million a year.
Idea four. Clothes and accessories
Today, Western consumers actively respond to offers of authentic goods, goods with outstanding properties, and original designs. This is not only clothing and shoes, but also souvenirs, jewelry, accessories, original decorative and design items, and all these categories of goods are sold well through e-commerce channels on popular marketplaces. According to a joint study by DataInsight and PayPal, the growth of retail online exports in Russia in 2016 was faster than the local market and amounted to 32%, sales volume reached $2 billion.
In online trading, the average check is usually higher than for regular purchases.
China is Russia's largest trading partner. At the same time, it is generally accepted that a country actively developing its economy needs only Russian resources. Is this so? Let’s try to figure out what can be exported to small businesses in the Middle Kingdom.
General structure of exports from Russia to China
Since 1979, the Chinese market has increased by an average of 10% per year. And although recently there has been a slight slowdown in growth rates (to 7-8%), the country’s potential for exporters remains high, especially against the backdrop of global negative trends. At the same time, the main products supplied to China from Russia are energy resources (primarily oil and its products (71.23%)), as well as wood, metals and ore.
Table 2Data for the first quarter of 2014
Chemical products
The share of non-commodity goods today is slightly more than 10% of the total export volume of the Russian Federation. This segment primarily includes chemical products (2.6%), plastics, rubber products and fertilizers.
In addition, China is the largest consumer of rubber. The country's industry uses 23.5% of the global volume of rubber, while experiencing an acute shortage of this raw material. Therefore, the products of the Russian chemical industry will be in great demand in China for a long time.
Last September, Chinese authorities lifted import duties on Russian rubber. Thanks to this, the profitability of its production and subsequent export has increased significantly. After all, import duties often reached a quarter of the cost of finished products.
Mechanical engineering
Machinery and equipment are also among the top ten best-selling Russian goods in China. Export of such products from January to September 2014. grew by almost 83%, and total sales exceeded $388 million. At the same time, the share of machinery and equipment still constitutes an insignificant part in total Russian exports (about 1.2%). But only for 2014. The export of this group of goods has almost doubled and continues to grow. Sales of power equipment increased most significantly (226.5%), the total sales of which, in just three quarters of 2014, amounted to $176 million. Aircraft exports also increased significantly (176.7%).
Agricultural products
Food supplies in monetary terms also still constitute an insignificant share of Russian exports to China, however, serious prospects are open for them. This is due to the increased growth of the country’s population, active urbanization and increasing well-being of the Chinese. The combination of these and other factors indicates that the demand for products in China will increase.
According to recently released data from Chinese customs, only in January 2014. China purchased food products worth $5.3 billion, which is 21% more than in January 2013. As you can see, the rise of the Chinese food market is obvious, but, unfortunately, this segment is still poorly developed by Russian medium and small businesses.
Russia exports flour and cereals, sunflower oil and milk powder, confectionery and alcoholic beverages to China. A growing item of export to China from Russia is also honey, which will be supplied only from Bashkiria in 2015. 6 thousand tons worth 3 billion rubles.
Fish
Seafood confidently ranks fourth in gross exports to China from Russia, their share is 3.27% of its total volume. And although in 2014 Fish supplies to the PRC decreased by 5% (to $1,027 million), the Russian Federation still provides almost half of the seafood needed by the PRC. Thus, this country still remains the main buyer of Russian fish products.
There are several reasons for the decline in fish purchases. This includes the PRC’s expansion of its own fishery, an increase in the share of Norwegian herring in the domestic Chinese market, and an increase in world prices for pollock, herring and salmon. And, in addition, in recent years, the consumption of seafood within the Russian Federation itself has been actively increasing.
Products that are profitable to export to China
Consumer demand in China is enormous, and prices for certain goods are much higher than in Russia. First of all, this concerns food products, many of which the Chinese market is experiencing an acute shortage of.
Several factors played a role in increasing demand for products. First of all, this is the renewed population growth of an already densely populated country, as well as the rapid growth in income of the Chinese, who have long been second only to the Indians in purchasing luxury goods.
Chinese shopping centers on weekends resemble the subway at rush hour, and the cost of a liter of milk is 25 yuan (more than 200 rubles) no longer surprises anyone. Retail prices are also higher for other types of goods, including even household appliances.
One of the most promising export directions to China is food industry products.
Grain, cereals, flour
Retail prices for these goods in China are significantly higher than ours. Therefore, it is extremely profitable to export grain and its processed products.
As you can see, the promotional wholesale price for half a kilo of corn grits is 58 rubles.
Today, representatives of countries are actively working, and in the near future all restrictions will be lifted. A joint working group has been created whose task is to accelerate the start of exports of our grain to China. According to the official statement of the Federal Service Rosselkhoznadzor, supplies of Russian grain to China may begin in the first half of 2015.
Some restrictions also exist on the import of meat and dairy products. Their elimination is also a matter of the next few months. Moreover, agricultural products are already being sold to China. The first export batch of flour was delivered back in 2011, since then this segment has been actively developing and China is currently purchasing flour from 7 varieties of wheat.
Russian grain has serious prospects in the Chinese market, since it contains more than 32% gluten and a relatively small amount of pesticides and other harmful substances.
Vegetable oil
The vegetable oil market in China is one of the largest in the world, its volume is approximately 500 thousand tons with an annual increase of more than 130 thousand tons. Moreover, through domestic production, the country can satisfy less than half of the demand, and the rest has to be imported. Therefore, in 2015, the Chinese government allocated more than $100 billion for the purchase of oilseeds.
Almost all types of vegetable oil are popular among the Chinese, from sunflower and olive to soybean and rapeseed. In addition, all types of products from oilseed crops (kozinaki or halva), as well as various waste products, are purchased.
Chinese entrepreneurs willingly buy both bottled and bulk oil. The most popular containers are 1 and 5 liters.
5 liters of sunflower oil in a supermarket on sale cost 376 rubles.
The wholesale price of bottled oil on the Chinese commodity exchange can be more than 100 rubles. per kilogram.
Chicken feet
Chicken feet, which in Europe are used for processing and production of feed additives for livestock, are considered a delicacy in China. The lower part is especially valued - the foot itself and the pad with the toes. This product costs much more than wings, fillets, breasts and other parts of chicken.
A pair of paws weighing 65 grams sells for 133 rubles.
Previously, supplies of paws from Russia to China were unprofitable and impossible for a number of reasons. Firstly, after the introduction of an embargo on the import of these products from the United States, the niche was immediately occupied by suppliers from countries with much more developed poultry farming (India, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc.). Secondly, Russia did not have the necessary production volume required to satisfy the Chinese market. Thirdly, the products of Russian factories, due to the specifics of raising and slaughtering young animals, did not meet the required level of quality standards.
Today, given the development of the poultry industry, the export of chicken feet is beginning to actively increase. Moreover, the Chinese, as a rule, themselves supply the factories with the appropriate equipment for raising birds, concluding mutually beneficial contracts for the export of legs, which are practically not in demand on the domestic Russian market.
Important: The purchase price of paws can vary greatly depending on their quality.
Honey
Supplies of honey to China are also possible, but there is one caveat. The fact is that China is one of the largest producers and exporters of honey in the world. Moreover, Chinese companies offer this product at a relatively low price, which allows them to fill the markets of some regions of the Russian Federation, among other things. Despite this, only the Bashkir beekeeping research center has a contract providing for the sale of 6,000 tons of honey worth 3 billion rubles in 2015. The customer is the Chinese enterprise “Green Root”.
Chinese honey is of very low quality. It is reluctantly used by confectionery, medical and cosmetic companies. On the contrary, the properties of Russian honey are high, and unscrupulous Chinese businessmen often pass off their own product as Russian, thereby harming the reputation of our beekeepers and exporters.
In addition to honey, it is profitable to sell royal jelly, bee venom, as well as food and medicinal products based on them.
The example with honey is illustrative. It clearly demonstrates that low prices and oversaturation of the Chinese market are not yet a reason to refuse to work with it. You can always find niches, including in small businesses, in which your product will be in demand.
Customs clearance
When exporting goods to China, filing a customs declaration is mandatory, but there are cases when the declaration is successfully replaced by a transportation document (for example, an international CMR consignment note). If a customs declaration is still necessary, it is issued as an electronic document in XML format. Moreover, a customs broker can help with registration.
Certain types of goods are allowed to be exported only with certificates and special permits.
These products include:
- Sturgeon fish and products derived from them (a license from the Ministry of Economic Development is required);
- Plants and seeds (a phytosanitary certificate from Rosselkhoznadzor is required);
- Ammunition and weapons (permission from the internal affairs authorities is required).
The customs duty that must be paid when exporting goods from the Russian Federation is determined according to the rates approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 30, 2013. Goods are classified according to the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity of the Customs Union. And for each product a rate is set as a percentage of the customs value of the goods. In some cases, the rate is limited to a minimum limit in euros or is set at a fixed amount in euros or dollars.
The customs value of exported goods is determined according to the Rules approved by Government Decree No. 191 of March 6, 2012. The main method for determining the customs value is the maximum possible transaction amount for these goods. In fact, it is equal to the transaction price at which the goods are declared, provided that
- the buyer and seller are not related to each other (or are connected, but this did not affect the price);
- there is no provision in the contract that part of the buyer’s income is returned to the seller;
- the buyer's rights to dispose of the goods are not limited;
- the contract does not contain conditions whose impact on the value of the transaction cannot be accurately calculated in numbers.
In addition, the customs value necessarily includes the costs of intermediary services, packaging, containers, etc. If you do not take them into account yourself, the customs authorities will do this for the seller.
You will also have to pay the import duty established by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China in a special “Draft of Customs Tariffs” for the coming year. At the same time, goods from the Russian Federation, as a member of the WTO, are subject to preferential duties.
It should be remembered that certain types of goods are subject to special customs duty rates. These include:
- Quota duties are valid only up to a certain quantity, that is, quota, of a product. They are used, for example, for imported rice, corn, sugar, and fertilizers.
- Temporary duties. In 2014, they were applied to such goods as diesel fuel, ceramic tableware, tires, soy sauce, etc.
Responsibilities for customs clearance for import and export, preparation of all necessary documents are distributed between the parties to the transaction in the international sales contract.
Russian industry, following the Soviet one, is famous for its helplessness in the production of consumer goods. We rarely come across high-quality domestic clothing and electronics, and the products of our automobile industry have simply become the talk of the town. As a result, the Russian public has very little idea of what the domestic industry produces and what its successes are. And with all the achievements in nuclear energy, space exploration, and fundamental science, there is a thriving conviction that Russia simply cannot come up with anything, much less make and sell it to the world.
Of course, oil rent is still the most important source of revenue for the Russian budget. In 2013, exports from Russia amounted to $526 billion, of which energy goods accounted for $371 billion. Nevertheless, as much as $155 billion comes from exports of other goods; It’s worth remembering that just 10 years ago, Russia’s entire exports amounted to $133 billion.
What else does Russia sell, besides oil, gas, coal and weapons?
Grain, wood, metals... But there are also much more unexpected export products that occupy a strong place in world markets. Despite all the slowness and backwardness of the economic system that has formed in Russia, Russian industry knows how to create something that attracts global consumers.
1. Titanium for aircraft
Titanium is one of the most amazing metals in the Universe. It is very strong, melts at a temperature of 1660º, which is higher than that of iron, and at the same time much lighter. This metal is inert, and therefore prosthetics can be made from it - in dentistry and orthopedics. But the main consumer of titanium metal is the aerospace industry. Titanium is an ideal material for very important parts of the aircraft body, landing gear and wings. If in machines such as the Boeing 707 or An-24, the share of titanium parts was less than 0.5% by weight of the airframe, then in the Boeing 777 there are already 8.5%, and in the Il-76T - 12 %.
These titanium parts from the Russian company AVISMA will become the chassis supports for the Dreamliner:
Aviation requires not only pure titanium (which is already difficult to smelt). We need alloys and products made from them. The world leader in titanium production is the Russian company VSMPO-AVISMA, the first titanium supplier for the European Airbus and the second for the American Boeing. The company's pride is the production of a unique landing gear bogie for the world's largest passenger aircraft, the A-380, weighing 3,500 kg. In general, it supplies products to 260 foreign companies in 39 countries.
70% of VSMPO-AVISMA titanium products are exported, 30% are consumed by the domestic market. So it is no coincidence that as soon as there was talk of possible sanctions against Russian companies, Airbus immediately began searching for alternative suppliers. If US and EU sanctions do happen, they will hit not only aviation, but will also negatively affect the implementation of European Airbus projects in the space sector.
2. Precious metals for Apple
We sometimes don’t even notice this entire complex technological chain - from the discovery of minerals to their transformation into a perfect consumer product like the iPhone. Of course, it is not produced in Russia, but this does not mean that the iPhone does not have Russian roots. As it turned out recently, Apple purchased precious and rare earth metals from Russian manufacturers for its phones, tablets and computers. Eleven Russian factories supplied it with gold for coating contacts, tantalum for capacitors, tungsten for alloying steel housings, and even tin for soldering parts. It seems like a small thing, but tantalum, refined gold, and tungsten don’t just lie on the ground. To obtain these metals with the desired properties, you need to go a long way.
To do this, you need to have the appropriate equipment that will drill the earth's surface, allow you to find the necessary minerals, open up deposits, and prepare what you extract for processing. Such machines are produced, for example, by the Uralmash Corporation.
New drilling rigs from Uralmash no longer resemble installations from Soviet times
After the metal mined in the ground is smelted, it can again end up in the hands of Uralmash equipment. For example, the same VSMPO-AVISMA processes its titanium parts on a press with a force of 6000 tons, which was made for them at Uralmash. This is how an industrial chain is formed, thanks to which you can watch stock exchange news on the tablet screen in the cabin of a state-of-the-art airliner.
3. Where does physics begin?
From the production of all kinds of detectors and devices. There is no equipment - and all that remains is to do philosophy. Here it is worth remembering Russia’s participation in the construction of the Large Hadron Collider; a number of domestic scientific and scientific-production organizations are participating in the construction of the world’s first thermonuclear reactor, ITER.
Novosibirsk Institute of Nuclear Physics named after. G.I. Budkera many years ago learned to earn money for fundamental physical research on his own. In addition to quite traditional products, such as X-ray diagnostic devices and security systems, Novosibirsk residents also offer quite exotic goods, which were previously supplied mainly to the world market - industrial charged particle accelerators. Manufacturers of such products can be counted on one hand. Scientists, by the way, are pleased that their products began to be purchased in Russia itself - for the needs of industrial production.
4. Russia – the birthplace of maps
The Russian company Transas is a world leader in the production of marine electronic charts and navigation systems. Its systems are installed on 13 thousand commercial, patrol and military vessels in more than a hundred countries around the world. 205 coastal navigation systems are installed in 100 ports in 55 countries. Founded in Leningrad in 1990, the company also supplies simulators, security systems, geographic information systems and even unmanned aerial vehicles to the world market.
Leaving the port of Helsinki on a simulator from Transas:
5. Modern press
In the manufacturing process of any modern car, a special role is played by the press, which turns a sheet of metal into an element of its structure, often of a very whimsical shape. A modern press is a complex product; it works under very intense conditions and must be very reliable.
The Voronezh enterprise "Tyazhmekhpress" is one of the world's largest suppliers of such products. More than 12 thousand of these presses operate in 54 countries around the world. TMP presses are used by Renault and Peugeot factories in France, Toyota and Mitsubishi in Japan, Samsung in South Korea, Tata Motors in India and many others.
A point of particular pride are the forging presses, which create crank mechanism parts for engines. Only 17 presses of this type have been created all over the world, with a force of more than 10 thousand tons, and 8 of them are branded “TMP”. So, when you get into your Mitsubishi or Peugeot, you may find yourself in a car whose parts were made at the Voronezh press.
6. Optics
Since Galileo's telescope, optics have had enormous military importance. A good telescope was so valuable in its time that it was included in a special line in the lists of trophies of all countries. At the end of the 19th century, with the advent of long-range naval and coastal artillery, the importance of optics increased even more. Optical sights appeared for snipers, binoculars became a common item for artillerymen. Without high-quality lenses and mirrors, the army and navy could no longer exist.
Casting glass into a block at the Lytkarino Optical Glass Plant:
In 1934, a mirror reflector plant was founded in the town of Lytkarino, which eventually became the world-famous Lytkarino Optical Glass Plant (LZOS). This is one of the most important defense enterprises in Russia, which produces day and night vision devices, vision systems for armored vehicles, as well as aviation and space-based lenses. LZOS became famous on the world market for its lenses and astronomical mirrors.
This is how they make supermirrors for telescopes in Lytkarino:
It was these sights – astronomical observation instruments – that made the plant famous. LZOS specialists made the main mirror (2.6 meters in diameter) for the National Observatory in Athens; The main mirror of the telescope for the Astronomical Institute named after. Max Planck in Germany (diameter 1.23 meters); the main telescope mirror for the VST project in Italy, with a diameter of 2.6 meters, and, finally, the main mirrors for three telescopes at the Royal Greenwich Observatory in the UK. And amateurs can use LZOS equipment - just type the phrase LZOS-telescope in a search engine.
7. Lasers and photons
The development of a company that produces export products sooner or later puts it on the road to globalization. Brains and hands can no longer be concentrated in one country; the company goes beyond national boundaries, becoming an international corporation. An interesting example is the company IPG Photonics.
In 1991, the IRE-Polyus company was created on the basis of the laboratories of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Polyus Research Institute. At first, enthusiasts were going to introduce developments in the field of solid-state lasers and laser materials in Russia, and then switched to a more promising direction - fiber lasers and amplifiers.
The company's founder, Valentin Gapontsev, founded the IPG Laser company in Germany in 1995, two years later (in Italy) the IPG Fibertech company, and in 1998 the IPG Photonics Corporation in Massachusetts, which became the headquarters of IPG. This group is the world leader (more than 80% of the market) of high-power industrial lasers. Since 2006, its shares have been traded on NASDAQ. At the same time, one of the main working sites of IPG Photonics is its Russian part, NTO “IRE-Polyus”, located in the city of Fryazino, Moscow region.
Company founder Valentin Gapontsev Perhaps this is one of the main ways for modern Russian business - to outgrow national borders and integrate into the global economic system. And the economic dependence of different countries on each other that arises in this way has its advantages - it forces politicians and officials to act more carefully.