On Wednesday, April 21, the Italian prime minister together with the Russian president will go to open a new household appliances factory in Lipetsk.
The Lipetsk region has become a proving ground for unfolding industrial districts in Russia.
Such regions intend the concentration of small and median enterprises specialising in the production of one or several kinds of products at a high technological level.
The Lipetsk region today has 157 enterprises with foreign investors. Most of these enterprises are engaged in the production and processing of farm products, manufacture of foods, trade and public catering, construction, production of building materials and industrial products.
The best known of them are - the ZAO ZKh Stinol, modern refrigerator-and freezer-making works; LMZ Svobodny Sokol, producer of foundry and conversion pig iron, pipes of high-strength pig iron with globular graphite; OOO Zolotoi Petushok Invest, producer of boiler meat; OAO Komtez, make roof spectacle frames; OAO J.T.I.-Yelets, making reduced tobacco and cigarettes.
The Parmalat group is the share-holder of the Progress factory in Lipetsk, producing Santal juices. The Russian division of Parmalat employs over 1,000 personnel.
The Italian company Merloni has decided to broaden "white assembly" production in Lipetsk. The planned volume of investments is 40 million dollars at the first stage.
Accessories for Stinol and the future domestic appliances joint venture are going to be manufactured by the enterprises Sintegran (based in Usman) and Assol (Lebedyan) in the Lipetsk region, Elektroapparat and Centrolit (based in Lipetsk).
With account for the production development plans, in 2006 Lipetsk will become the largest household-appliances zone in Europe and produce 2.5 "white-assembly" units annually.
