Production

LLC Ameta-Electrode (Svetlogorsky welding electrode plant, ARCUS brand) has become the winner of the anniversary XX republican contest "Best Exporter of the Year", organized by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the nomination "Metallurgy". The plant's director, Maxim Vladimirovich Romanenko, who also holds the post of general director of the Russian LLC Magnitogorsky Electrodny Zavod, spoke about the enterprise.

The Path of the Leader

Maxim Romanenko was born in Magnitogorsk, where he also graduated from school and the Magnitogorsk State Technical University named after G.I. Nosov. He served in the army. After returning to Magnitogorsk, in 2018, he started working at LLC Magnitogorsky Electrodny Zavod, which was formed on the basis of the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Combine. In 2019, he already headed this enterprise. By the time the Svetlogorsky welding electrode plant was acquired, significant experience had already been gained.

Revival of the Plant

Ameta-Electrode is an enterprise that previously belonged to the company Plasmatek, connected with Ukrainian capital. In 2022-2023, the plant was idle. The owner had actually abandoned the plant, and the employees were left without stable work.

Thanks to the decision of the President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Grigorievich Lukashenko, the plant was put up for exchange trading, Maxim Romanenko explains. Our enterprise took part in it and won. The production of electrodes is a technologically complex process that requires specific competencies and a lot of labor. The products are multicomponent, and technologies, packaging, storage, and logistics are important. For companies without the relevant experience, it would be extremely difficult to launch such an enterprise. We already had all the necessary knowledge and developments.

After the revival of the plant, many laid-off employees returned. Today, 90% of the former workers are employed at the enterprise, with a total staff of 140 people. The preservation of the engineering and technical staff and the electrical service is 100%.

Why They Won the Contest

Maxim Romanenko associates the victory with three key factors: the cost of production; quality; and the availability of goods in stock. It is precisely due to these components that the enterprise has successfully recommended itself in the market.

– In recent years, we have focused on retail sales: we release products in 1 kg and 2.5 kg packages, in tubes and vacuum packaging, – continues Maxim Vladimirovich. – Vacuum packaging allows us to preserve the quality of the electrodes for a long time. Previously, before use, electrodes in box packaging had to be calcined at a temperature of 120 °C. Today, it is enough to take the electrode out of the vacuum packaging and start welding immediately. At the plant, the products are pre-calcined and hermetically packaged.

Production and Export

LLC "Ameta-Electrode" in Svetlogorsk produces an average of 450 tons of welding electrodes per month. Production is seasonal: in the summer, the volume reaches 700 tons, and in the winter, it decreases to 300 tons. More than 80% of the products are shipped for export. In addition to Russia, supplies are sent to Armenia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.

The company's own fleet includes 1.5-ton, 7-ton, and 20-ton trucks, which reduces the cost of transportation and guarantees timely delivery to any region in the required volume.

Own Equipment

– The production of electrodes is highly specialized, and there is almost no ready-made equipment for it, – emphasizes Maxim Vladimirovich. – Therefore, we are forced to develop and manufacture the necessary units ourselves. A mechanical processing site has been created in Magnitogorsk, which successfully solves these problems. Currently, in Svetlogorsk, industrial tests of a packaging machine for retail packaging of boxes are underway. Until now, boxes of 1 and 2.5 kg were packed manually. We have made an aggregate with our own forces, which automates this stage. The next step is to create a machine for automated packaging of electrodes in boxes of 5 kg or more. One cycle of automation will be completed at the enterprise, and we will continue development further.

People are the Basis of Achievements

The victory in the XX Republican contest "Best Exporter of the Year" was made possible thanks to the coordinated work of the entire team. As Maxim Romanenko noted, one person can do nothing. Nothing will work without people who are at the machines, in the warehouse, behind the wheel of a car. Their selfless labor lies at the basis of the enterprise's achievements.