OREANDA-NEWS. The town of Vyksa in the Nizhny Novgorod region hosted the tenth awards ceremony of the Ivan and Andrei Batashev Fund. At the ceremony, United Metallurgical Company (CJSC OMK, Moscow) awarded the best employees of its enterprises based on its 2012 results.

Employees were awarded in ten categories: Best Piper, Best Metallurgist, Best Maintenance Technician, Best Worker, Best Foreman, Best Engineer, Best in Profession, Best Manager, Best Project Manager and Best Young Specialist. Employees at Vyksa Steel Works, the Casting and Rolling Complex, Almetyevsk Pipe Plant (Tatarstan), Trubodetal Plant (Chelyabinsk region), OMK Headquarters (Moscow) and OMK-EcoMetal (Moscow) were nominated and announced the winners.

Vladimir Nefedov, Minister of Industry and Innovation of the Nizhny Novgorod region, congratulated the metallurgists at the event: “I am sincerely happy to participate in the tenth awards ceremony of the Ivan and Andrei Batashev Fund. United Metallurgical Company’s corporate spirit is based on the symbols of glory from our great history. I thank you all present here for your selfless work and dedication to your profession and the company. Your gifted hands create products that are highly valued and in demand on both domestic and foreign markets, and the energy of your ideas enables progress.”

Tatiana Kazakova, Art Director of the N.P. Akimov Comedy Theatre in St. Petersburg, said, “I am standing on the Vyksa stage for the second time and cannot but be surprised by the work done in such a small town as Vyksa. I am especially surprised by the amount of effort and love that the company’s management directs to its employees. In my mind, a true manager is a person who cares not only for the business, but also for the people around him.”

The awards ceremony has become a central event in the life of United Metallurgical Company, and the Ivan and Andrei Batashev awards have become a source of pride and admiration for its employees. This was emphasized by OMK’s CEO and President of the Ivan and Andrei Batashev Fund Anatoly Sedykh: “The Fund’s history started in 2003. Just imagine - there was neither an advanced LDP production facility, nor the Casting and Rolling Complex, nor the Heavy Plate Mill 5000 in Vyksa at that time. During these nine years, we have broken through. Most importantly, we have changed while developing these advanced production facilities. Our mindset and attitude towards life have changed, and we have accumulated great experience. Our working and living conditions have changed significantly. You all remember perfectly well what Vyksa was like ten years ago, and you can see what it is now. It is often said now that there are few heroes in the country for the young generation to follow. OMK’s history contradicts this statement. Since 2003, 369 people have been nominated for the award and 115 of them have won the award. Ten of them were awarded the fund’s silver medal, and four received the highest award – the gold medal. Their working biography and personality level are a convincing and bright example to follow, especially for the young generation. They all are our contemporaries; it is they who create the recent history of the company and Russia.”

OMK employees received awards from famous scientists, artists, athletes and the company’s management. Among them were Chairman of the Management Board of the Russian Association of Steelmakers Konstantin Kosyrev, Acting Rector of the National Research Technological University at MISiS Alevtina Chernikova, Professor at the Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering Tatiana Vinogradova, People’s Artist of Russia Irina Mazurkevich, tennis player and State Duma Deputy Marat Safin, world champion in Thai boxing Artyom Levin, OMK President Vladimir Markin and CEO of VSW Sergei Filippov.

The Ivan and Andrei Batashev Fund (Ivan and Andrei Batashev founded Vyksa Steel Works) was founded by OMK’s shareholders in 2003 to encourage the best employees at VSW. Since 2009, the best employees at OMK’s enterprises have been awarded for the best achievements in production and sci-tech activities and significant contributions to the company’s development. Winners receive cash awards, letters of honor and prizes. The Fund’s prize is a statue of a unicorn – the Batashev family coat of arms – a symbol of power, progress and ambition.