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Economic drivers: machinery and metalworking in the Grodno region

Assembly Hall of the Soviet Union - this is how Belarus was often called during the years of the USSR. Much time has passed since then, but the machinery sector has retained a special and strategic status in the overall structure of the Belarusian economy even today. It is this sector that is one of the most innovative and capital-intensive in the country. Particular emphasis in Belarus is placed on the production of import-substituting quarry, road, and agricultural equipment. A wide range of products is provided by the production capacities of over 1.5 thousand enterprises, some of which are concentrated in the Grodno region and FEZ Grodnoinvest. Read more in our new series of materials on the economic potential of the region. 

Today, machinery is one of the leading sectors of the Belarusian economy, forming over 15% of the country's industrial production. More than 1 600 enterprises provide a wide range of products, including electrical equipment, agricultural machinery, automobiles and auto components, industrial machine tools and equipment, household appliances and more. The volume of production of finished products exceeded 23.7 billion rubles in 2021.

To improve production efficiency, the leading enterprises of machinery are united into large holdings, including BELAZ-HOLDING, BELAVTOMAZ, MTW-HOLDING, GOMSELMASH, INTEGRAL, BOBRUISKAGROMASH, BelOMO, AUTOCOMPONENTS, AMKODOR, MOGILEVLIFTMASH, MINSK MOTOR PLANT.

The products of Belarusian machinery are widely known outside the country, due to this, more than 55% of manufactured products are sent to the markets of near and far abroad countries. Among the largest consumers of Belarusian engineering products are the Russian Federation, Poland, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Germany, and the Netherlands. The volume of exports in 2021 exceeded $5 billion.

Despite the fact that machinery is not one of the leading industries in the Grodno region, accounting for less than 6% of the total industrial production, almost 1 billion rubles worth of products were produced in 2021.

About 40% of the production of attached tractor equipment and more than 90% of the production of equipment for sowing are concentrated in the region. Also, in the Grodno region, more than 7 000 units of tractors for agriculture and forestry, more than 13 000 units of tillage equipment and almost 100 000 km of electrical conductors are produced annually.

More than 60% of the machinery products produced in the region are exported. An important role in increasing export deliveries is played by projects implemented in FEZ Grodnoinvest.

As for today, FEZ Grodnoinvest is implementing more than 10 projects in the field of machinery and metalworking. Residents produce machine and auto components, industrial equipment and construction equipment, optics and electronics. The annual production volume exceeds $200 million, and the partners and investors of the residents are the world's leading brands.

Thanks to the use of high-tech equipment and the constant expansion of the range of manufactured products, in five years the volume of production has increased by more than 77%, and the share of innovative products is about 30%. All manufactured products undergo technical and laboratory control and meet the highest quality standards.

Residents of FEZ Grodnoinvest produce almost 70% of vehicles and equipment in the Grodno region, more than 13% of electronic and optical equipment, more than 55% of electrical equipment and about 35% of finished metal products for machinery. Among the exported engineering products, more than 66% were produced by residents of FEZ Grodnoinvest. 

Among the largest mechanical engineering enterprises in FEZ Grodnoinvest are:

Manufacturers of electronic and optical equipment:

  • Plant Optik JSC is a leading Belarusian manufacturer of optical products and components since 1970. Grodnoinvest was registered as a resident of the FEZ in 2009. It produces geometric optics, mirrors and lenses used in medicine, and products for laboratories for veterinary and sanitary quality control of food products.
  • TERRAZYT PLUS Ltd. is a diversified enterprise whose main activity is the production of virtual control devices for piston and jet aircraft, helicopters, and spaceship prototypes of the Virpil Controls brand. All products are developed in close cooperation with the renowned developers of the most popular modern flight and space simulators. More than 99% of products are exported.

Manufacturers of electrical equipment:

  • Avtoprovod Shchuchin Plant JSC is the leader in Belarus in the manufacture and sale of power cable products. The product range of Avtoprovod Shchuchin Plant includes more than 250 models of cables and wires with copper and aluminum conductors, including automotive, mounting, heating, installation cables and wires, communication cables and wires, monitoring and control cables, radio frequency, power cables.

Manufacturers of machinery and equipment:

  • Smorgon Assembly Plant JSC is part of MTW-HOLDING and produces mini equipment, tractors, walking tractors, mini tractors, special equipment, spare parts and attachments. The export geography of the enterprise includes over 20 countries. Since 2018, as a resident of FEZ Grodnoinvest, Smorgon Assembly Plant has been implementing an investment project for technical re-equipment and improvement of the production process.
  • Since 1960, Grodtorgmash JSC has been producing a wide range of industrial products, including technological equipment for public catering, medical equipment, equipment for agriculture and food processing, utensils for public catering, and consumer goods. The company was registered as a resident of FEZ Grodnoinvest in 2013.
  • Bioсom Technology Ltd. has been a resident of FEZ Grodnoinvest since 2009. Provides technological and technical services to agricultural organizations in the field of innovative technologies, farm automation and labor-intensive processes in livestock farming. For over 10 years, the company has been working closely with the Dutch concern Lely Industries N.V.
  • Vector CJSC is the leader in Belarus in the production of magnetic drilling machines, machines for edge processing and chamfering, as well as powerful machines for drilling holes in rails. Products are exported to Russia, Poland, Lithuania, and foreign countries.

Manufacturers of vehicles and equipment:

  • Belcard JSC is the largest Belarusian manufacturer of components for cars of all types and modifications, a resident of FEZ Grodnoinvest since 2009. The company supplies its products to the assembly lines of leading automakers in Eastern Europe. Its structure includes four productions: mechanical assembly, tool-mechanical, forging and pressing, automobile units.
  • Radiovolna JSC is a diversified industrial enterprise with over 40 years of experience in the mechanical engineering industry, of which more than 10 years as a resident of FEZ Grodnoinvest. Specializes in the production of automotive electrical harnesses, generators and spare parts for automotive equipment. The company cooperates with dealers from the Baltic countries, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Azerbaijan and other countries. Products are supplied to the conveyors of the largest automobile concerns and engineering enterprises in Belarus and Russia, including MAZ, Minsk Motor Plant, MTW, Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant, Gomselmash, BELAZ, Ulyanovsk Motor Plant, UAZ.

Manufacturers of finished metal products:

Novogrudok Gas Equipment Plant JSC has been one of the leading manufacturers of a wide range of gas equipment in the CIS for more than 50 years. It was registered as a resident of FEZ Grodnoinvest in 2013. The company's products include: gas cylinder equipment for cars, automobile and household gas cylinders, shut-off valves, components for household gas stoves, gas meters, fire extinguishers, consumer goods.

BelKomin Ltd. is a leading manufacturer of energy efficient solid fuel boilers and stainless steel chimney systems. Over 10 years of operation, the company has produced more than 40 thousand boilers and hundreds of thousands of chimney elements.

Mercury Manufacturing company Ltd. is a manufacturer of hot water central heating boilers using solid fuels. Provides turnkey installations of facilities (chimneys, expansion tanks, heat exchangers, valves).

HAVER BY Metal Structural Plant Ltd. is the official representative of the German concern HAVER & BOECKER, the world leader in the production of metal mesh for mining enterprises in the CIS countries. Since 2009, the company has been producing metal mesh and sieves. During our work, the geography of exports expanded to various CIS countries.

Konus State Unitary Enterprise carries out hot-dip galvanizing of metal products using modern equipment using the latest technologies. Using high-tech equipment, the company galvanizes large and long structures, road barriers, lighting masts, cable support systems, thin-sheet metal products, as well as any unique structures weighing up to 6 tons, and does this both outside and inside the products.

UnisTrade LLC was registered as a resident of FEZ Grodnoinvest in 2021. It is one of the largest manufacturers of metal products in Belarus, has sales offices in six countries, and acts as an official partner of the Italian manufacturer DEA System CIS.

Residents of FEZ Grodnoinvest actively contribute to the development of the machinery sector in the Grodno region. Thus, Smorgon Assembly Plant t is carrying out technical re-equipment to automate production processes, which will triple the current production capacity and expand the export capabilities of the enterprise. At Novogrudok Gas Equipment Plant, a new robotic line for the assembly and welding of household gas cylinders began operating, which will allow the production of up to 24 thousand cylinders per month and to satisfy the increased consumer demand for Belarusian products, and new equipment was put into operation at Belkard for automatic production of parts of complex shapes.

An additional driver for the development of mechanical engineering in FEZ Grodnoinvest should be the implementation of a unique infrastructure project to create the Grodno industrial park.

It is planned to locate production facilities, a business center with exhibition halls and service facilities on the territory of the Park. The area of the site for the project is 13 hectares with the possibility of expansion to 44 hectares. The site for the park has a number of advantages: the necessary engineering and transport infrastructure has been created on the territory, there is a railway line, and a new highway connecting the European Union with the Eurasian Economic Union runs nearby. The administration of FEZ Grodnoinvest offers potential investors various models of cooperation, including construction and management of the Park, rental or purchase of Park facilities (Build-Own-Operate) (Build-Own-Sell).