OREANDA-NEWS. Meeting on measures to develop the national machine-tool industry for modernising the military-industrial complex

The participants in the meeting discussed the retooling of defence-industry enterprises, the development and consolidation of the national machine-tool sector, as well as state industrial policy in the area of modernising the engineering sector.

Dmitry Medvedev’s introductory remarks:
As you might guess, our meeting deals with the development of the machine-tool sector, which is certainly the most important element of the Russian economy. The engineering sector has always ensured major demand for feedstock and materials in affiliated economic sectors, and it has also encouraged demand for new, high-tech products and modern technology. And, of course, it has provided work for companies in the most diverse Russian regions.

By the way, consumption of all types of machine-tool equipment has increased by 13% throughout 2012 as compared to 2011, and this consumption has reached certain levels. At about USD 3 billion, I cannot say that these levels are anything fantastic, but this is a substantial amount already.
However, the overall performance of the machine-tool sector can hardly be considered very encouraging. Russia ranks between the top 20 and top 30 manufacturers of metalworking equipment. Everyone knows who the leaders are: Germany, Japan and now China. The Russian machine-tool sector accounts for 0.03% of the national GDP. For China, Japan and Germany, it is almost 1% of GDP. This exceeds Russian levels almost 100 times over.
The share of computer numerical control (CNC) machine-tools is only about 10%. It is common knowledge that the Russian domestic market relies heavily on imports, an estimated 90%, according to experts. We must by all means rectify the situation. And the fact that we have gathered at the Stankin Moscow State Technological University speaks volumes. I have just finished inspecting their centre, which is, certainly, quite good and impressive. To accomplish this breakthrough, we must make substantial efforts. For instance, we must promptly upgrade our defence-industry companies and supply the Armed Forces with additional amounts of modern and high-tech equipment. I will not frighten everyone with the wear-and-tear statistics of old equipment. You are well aware of this: defence-industry equipment is over 20 years old, on average.

In the near future, in 2015-2017, the defence industry will require metal-cutting machine-tools, press-and-forging equipment and other machine-tools worth an estimated 100 billion roubles annually. Actually, this 100 billion roubles a year is the same as the USD 3 billion that I mentioned.

Dmitry Medvedev’s introductory remarks:

Meeting on measures to develop the national machine-tool sector for modernising the military-industrial complex

As you might guess, our meeting deals with the development of the machine-tool sector, which is certainly the most important element of the Russian economy. The engineering sector has always ensured major demand for feedstock and materials in affiliated economic sectors, and it has also encouraged demand for new, high-tech products and modern technology. And, of course, it has provided work for companies in the most diverse Russian regions.

By the way, consumption of all types of machine-tool equipment has increased by 13% throughout 2012 as compared to 2011, and this consumption has reached certain levels. At about USD 3 billion, I cannot say that these levels are anything fantastic, but this is a substantial amount already.
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On meeting on developing machine-tool engineering as part of efforts to upgrade the defence industry

However, the overall performance of the machine-tool sector can hardly be considered very encouraging. Russia ranks between the top 20 and top 30 manufacturers of metalworking equipment. Everyone knows who the leaders are: Germany, Japan and now China. The Russian machine-tool sector accounts for 0.03% of the national GDP. For China, Japan and Germany, it is almost 1% of GDP. This exceeds Russian levels almost 100 times over.

Dmitry Medvedev: "Сonsumption of all types of machine-tool equipment has increased by 13% throughout 2012 as compared to 2011."

The share of computer numerical control (CNC) machine-tools is only about 10%. It is common knowledge that the Russian domestic market relies heavily on imports, an estimated 90%, according to experts. We must by all means rectify the situation. And the fact that we have gathered at the Stankin Moscow State Technological University speaks volumes. I have just finished inspecting their centre, which is, certainly, quite good and impressive. To accomplish this breakthrough, we must make substantial efforts. For instance, we must promptly upgrade our defence-industry companies and supply the Armed Forces with additional amounts of modern and high-tech equipment. I will not frighten everyone with the wear-and-tear statistics of old equipment. You are well aware of this: defence-industry equipment is over 20 years old, on average.

In the near future, in 2015-2017, the defence industry will require metal-cutting machine-tools, press-and-forging equipment and other machine-tools worth an estimated 100 billion roubles annually. Actually, this 100 billion roubles a year is the same as the USD 3 billion that I mentioned.

The sector’s advanced-development projects are capable of facilitating a technological breakthrough. Certainly, this includes the human-resources potential, which is our most substantial asset, as well as research and development projects, which I have just seen (the laboratory complex “Proving Ground – Pilot Production Facility” of the Stankin Engineering Centre). Of course, there are other sites as well. We need to convert these advanced-development projects into actual achievements, so that Russian machine-builders would be able to start manufacturing modern world-class equipment.

Colleagues, I would like to note a few more important aspects, and then I will open it up to you. First, we must concentrate assets in accordance with various programmes, including the federal targeted programme National Technology Base. Incidentally, we have already accomplished a lot under this programme. Indeed, we are making impressive headway in the so-called breakthrough areas, including research and development work, investment projects and the most promising technologies.

Second, we must expand the list of machine-tool products being purchased under a special procedure. I would like to know what you think on this score, because this is, of course, always a double-edged sword. But I am talking about the high-priority purchases of products by defence-industry companies, provided that they are not inferior to their foreign equivalents in terms of price and quality. This is a matter of expert assessments. And, of course, we must ensure the effective implementation of this decision. I would like to remind you that we have a special resolution, which was passed in 2011, and which stipulates bans and restrictions on the import of foreign-made products during the awarding of contracts for the delivery of products, the execution of works and the provision of services for national defence needs.
And, third, we must ensure permanent technological audits of equipment and engineering solutions being acquired for defence-industry projects, and we must also improve the relevant procedure for the delivery of machine-tools and related equipment. This is quite important. I have just had it rather convincingly explained to me that a considerable share of imported equipment functions based on solutions being adopted in other countries, including the procedure for switching on machine-tools. This ensures our complete dependence on these solutions. If all this flows through the global network, then everyone understands that this supply route can be cut off anytime. And this, of course, is a matter of our technological independence. This is what I wanted to say in the beginning.