Our priority is strength and durability.

Article published 01/17/2019

The Uzbek mentality, established fr om time immemorial from the cultural and religious way of life, is inherently constructive. Since ancient times, our people have been working tirelessly and at the first opportunity trying to build or equip a home for the future of their descendants. In ancient times, our ancestors - architects-masters built beautiful buildings, which served as an example of the highest level of art. For the manufacture of building materials and decor, amazing technologies were invented and applied; some of them cannot be repeated even today. Devoting the number to the development of the building materials industry in order to familiarize readers with the activities of modern masters - specialists in the production of building materials, products and structures, as well as the leading organization of the industry, the Editor-in-Chief talked with the Chairman of the Board of O'zqurilishmateriallari JSC Zaripov Botir Komilovich.

- Dear Botir Komilovich, in this format I would like to talk with you not only about the digital indicators of the current development of the building materials industry, but also about its prospects and principles of corporate governance. On the initiative of our President, in order to improve the well-being of the people, intensive construction is going on in our country, and therefore O'zqurilishmateriallari JSC has a great responsibility to provide the necessary construction products, how do you, the main suppliers of building materials, see what is happening?

“Today, we, the citizens of Uzbekistan, are becoming both participants and witnesses of large-scale construction in all regions of the country that has unfolded in all directions. Wherever you go, you will not go - work is in full swing, day and night. Somewhere modern residential areas are built, social facilities, buildings with complex design and architectural configurations and structures, and somewhere under reconstruction or repair work is underway. For example, the construction of the Tashkent City center, which has no analogues in the Central Asian region, land and underground lines and new stations of the Tashkent metro, new bridges and road junctions is being accelerated in our capital. Of course, the embodiment of these pilot ambitious designs has led to the rapid growth in demand for high-quality building materials.

O'zqurilishmateriallari JSC and its organizations and enterprises, as well as several thousand workers and employees working in them, with their valiant work make a worthy contribution to the development of the building materials industry, achieving significant results in the production of new types of building materials to ensure a decent life. and the welfare of our people.

- At the end of 2016, by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, you headed O'zqurilishmateriallari JSC. What were the main problems in the activities of the Company when you started working and how are they solved?

- In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On measures to further improve the organization of management of the construction materials industry of the republic”, with a view to further developing and diversifying the structure of the building materials industry, attracting investments for the modernization, technological re-equipment of enterprises of the industry and increasing its export potential, modern international methods of corporate governance O'zqurilishmateriallari JSC would and transformed into a joint-stock company "Uzstroymaterialy". We were given new tasks and directions that need to be urgently activated to ensure that construction work is actively underway with appropriate building materials. Among the primary:

● Ensuring the implementation of a set of measures for the in-depth processing of local raw materials, increasing the volume and expanding the range of production of competitive, export-oriented construction products, as well as meeting domestic demand for new types of high-quality building materials

● widespread attraction of investments, primarily foreign direct, for modernization, technical and technological re-equipment of the industry, organization with leading specialized foreign companies of joint ventures and industries for the production of high-quality modern building materials in a wide range.

At that time, when I headed the Company, the main problems in the industry included the lack of close cooperation with local governments (khokimiyats), commercial banks, other departments and organizations in the implementation of investment projects on the organization of production of building materials. Also in the structure of O'zqurilishmateriallari JSC there was no specialized project research and development institute for the development of project documentation, survey work, the introduction of new technologies in the production of building materials and products. However, these gaps were quickly eliminated.

- It is known that financiers are good managers, because they can count money better than others. Previously, you held the post of first deputy chairman of the board of Joint-Stock Commercial Bank Agrobank. Tell me how bank management skills help you in the development of the building materials industry?

- Working in a bank is very difficult. Here you need to be able to work not only with money, but also with people - both with staff and clients. It is clear that the leadership of any large organization, especially a bank, is expanding the range of responsibilities and authorities, and therefore the responsibility for making strategic decisions on various issues of regulating investment, financial and credit flows, including foreign, and bank-client relations. It is very important to be able to plan and predict actions in accordance with the capabilities and tasks, therefore the role of preparatory work, collecting, analyzing and systematizing information in the literal sense of the word about everything and everything is increasing, in order to avoid mistakes, follow the news and innovations relating to all spheres of functioning of the bank and, of course, continuously enrich their knowledge, skills, abilities and experience. All this in aggregate was very useful to me in a new field. My experience in the banking system helps me very well in my work at Uzstroymaterialy, because the financing of each project for organizing the production of building materials is connected with banking and foreign loans. Knowledge and skills in the banking sector allow you to quickly solve problems related to the financing of projects.

- Given the expansion of social housing construction, both apartment buildings in cities and typical houses in rural areas are being actively built. The volume of construction work in the field of tourism infrastructure is also increasing. Do our domestic construction organizations cope with this load? Are there enough building materials to ensure such a scale of new buildings? What building materials and raw materials are now the most popular in the implementation of construction works and are in greatest demand among customers and are there any supply disruptions?

- As you know, the volume of construction works grows annually by 1.5–2 times and providing them with high-quality and affordable building materials is very important.

In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated November 14, 2017, a decision was made on the phased introduction, starting from January 1, 2018, of the implementation on the domestic market of oil products, cement, rolled ferrous metals, copper, cotton fiber, and other highly liquid products. , raw materials and materials on the basis of market principles, exclusively through exchange trading.

In order to quickly meet the demand for such important and necessary products as cement and construction organizations, and the population, since 2018 direct contracts have been concluded for the supply of cement with such organizations as IC "Kishlok Kurilish Invest", IC "Uzshakhar Qurilish Invest" and others. As a result of these measures, the cost of cement allocated for the construction of strategically important facilities has decreased, amounting to 367 thousand soums per ton including VAT.

Ceramic tiles, sanitary ceramics, building glass, cement, drywall and others are in great demand.

We have mastered the production of more than 15 new types of import-substituting building materials, such as 3D ceramic tiles, sanitary ceramics, porcelain tiles, sandwich panels, soft roofing materials, composite reinforcement, basalt-based products, liquid wallpaper, glass-crystallite, mixers, thermal insulation materials, and many others.

We consider it a great achievement to be the effectiveness of the measures we have taken in the past period of 2018 to prevent the growth of prices for building materials on the domestic market and to make them cheaper. So, as of December 20, 2018, the average exchange price of 1 ton of cement produced by local producers, compared with the price for January of the current year. (568.4 thousand UZS) decreased by 26.2%, making 432.1 thousand UZS, the price of 1 sq. M. m of construction glass (34.4 thousand soums) decreased by 41.4%, amounting to 20.1 thousand soums, the price of 1 pc. slate (34.3 thousand soums) decreased by 6.9%, reaching 32.0 thousand soums.

- Currently, the whole country is a solid construction site, because the construction industry has been assigned tasks within the framework of the Country Development Strategy in five priority areas in 2017–2021. and Strategies for the development of the construction industry until 2029. All structures of Uzstroymaterialy Joint-Stock Company are active participants and performers of these tasks. Therefore, now the country has been embraced by a construction boom, but when the planned goals are achieved and the construction of the planned facilities is completed, how do you see the future of the construction business?

- In my opinion, upon completion of construction and commissioning of any facility, new targets are immediately outlined. Because construction, i.e. creative work is an infinitely renewable process. I believe that the construction business in the future will only expand and develop, achieving great success, especially the construction of social facilities, to which the country's leadership pays special attention. And this is not a mere assertion, but a very realistic forecast, substantiated by real facts and promising possibilities, taking into account the presence in all regions of the republic of rich raw materials reserves for the production of building materials. According to analyzes conducted in this area, our country has identified 924 deposits with raw materials for the production of building materials, of which 392 deposits are currently used (42.4%), therefore, to optimize work in this direction, Uzstroymaterialy Joint-Stock Company together with the State Committee for Geology active work is underway. So, if for 11 months. In 2017, the State Committee for Geology issued 208 licenses for the right to use subsoil areas containing non-metallic minerals, then in 2018 - 570 licenses! As you can see, the number of licenses issued increased by 2.7 times compared to the corresponding period last year.

- As is known, the developed countries of Europe and Asia dictate fashion in the newest technologies and know-how, incl. in construction and construction materials production. Can we somehow succeed in this direction? Are there any enterprises in the republic that produce unique types of construction products that are not only not inferior to foreign ones, but also have no analogues that you are proud of?

- Today, a lot of innovative technologies and materials have appeared on the building materials market. Among them, I would like to mention, first of all, Universal FRP Systems LLC, which, having launched its production in 2017, has already become a leading enterprise for the production of composite materials, glass fiber composite (ASC) and fiberglass reinforcement (ASP, AKP), fiberglass and glass composite reinforcement for the reinforcement of road slabs and roads.

According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the Program of Measures to Ensure Structural Transformations, Modernization and Diversification of Production for 2015–2019”, the project “Creation of an industrial complex for in-depth processing of basalt stone to produce basalt continuous fiber ( BNV) and the production of basalt-composite reinforcement in the Farish district of the Jizzakh region. The uniqueness of basalt reinforcement is that this high-strength non-metallic composite reinforcement consists of basalt fibers whose structure is not exposed to the ravages of water and salts. Of course, it has a number of its shortcomings, but they are quite removable with additional calculations for each type of its application. Despite the fact that abroad such valves have been successfully used for several decades, all types of composite valves are fairly new material in the construction market of Uzbekistan. Its application has great promise. Today, it can be safely applied in low-rise construction, in foundations of various types, in road slabs, etc., of similar structures. However, for its application in high-rise construction, in the construction of bridges, etc. it is necessary to take into account its physical and chemical features at the preparatory stage for design. But we will continue research and testing in this direction to improve the quality properties of this promising material for construction.

In addition, we can be proud of the completion of construction in the Surkhandarya region at the initiative of Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine, Sherabad Cement Plant with a capacity of 1.5 million tons of cement per year with the development of $ 212.8 million. “Exclusive” in Tashkent, production of an annual volume of 2.5 million rolls of wallpaper was launched with the use of investments in the amount of $ 9.5 million.

Currently, a number of projects are being implemented in the republic to organize the production of chipboard from reeds and cotton stalks. In particular, projects for the production of 30 thousand cubic meters were introduced in the Surkhandarya region. m chipboard, and for 2018-2019. It is planned to introduce projects for the production of particleboard entirely from local raw materials in the Navoi region with an annual capacity of 50 thousand cubic meters each. m, in the Surkhandarya region with an annual capacity of 150 thousand cubic meters. m, in the Republic of Karakalpakstan with a total annual capacity of 50 thousand cubic meters. meters

Today, projects are being implemented to organize the production of aerated concrete blocks from local raw materials - an energy-efficient wall building material that is convenient for use in the construction of large objects. In particular, the production of aerated concrete blocks in the Bukhara, Jizzakh, Samarkand, Khorezm and Tashkent regions will be launched with a total annual capacity of 1 million cubic meters. The advantage of aerated concrete is that it is significantly lighter in weight and more energy efficient than a brick, because in its production, natural gas is consumed 5–8 times less than in the production of burnt brick. It is especially important that in its production the soil-fertile layer suitable for growing agricultural products is not disturbed.

In addition, O'zqurilishmateriallari JSC is directly involved in the preparation and implementation of projects of regional programs for the development of the production of building materials. So, in 2017 in the republic with our participation, 2150 projects were implemented with a total cost of 2.4 trillion soums. and created more than 25.8 thousand new jobs. As part of regional investment programs for organizing the production of building materials in 2018, 664 projects were implemented with a total value of 6.3 trillion soums. with the creation of 13.5 thousand new jobs.

As part of the development of the construction industry in the regions, O'zqurilishmateriallari JSC is engaged in the implementation of modern advanced technologies and the organization of production, including on new types of building materials, provides practical assistance to the initiators of regional projects in the areas of attracting investment in production, including the study of export-oriented building materials.

- O'zqurilishmateriallari JSC is actively establishing contacts with foreign colleagues. Experience of which countries is now being used in the planning, organization and production of building materials? What foreign companies do you prefer to cooperate with, and how effective is their assistance in construction work and the production of building materials, as well as in the development of new types of building technologies?

- As part of the top-level visit of the republic’s leadership to the Russian Federation, the PRC, the Republic of Korea, Turkey, India and France, agreements were reached and memorandums were concluded with leading foreign companies for the implementation of 43 projects with a total value of $ 2,330.3 million with the creation of more than 4 Thousands of new jobs to attract foreign investment in the production of modern import-substituting building materials for the period 2017–2021. Of these, 12 projects were implemented in 2018, 14 projects are scheduled for implementation in 2019, 17 projects in 2020 and subsequent years.

- Tell us about the work of the research center, what tasks are being solved now in the light of the above listed activities of the construction industry and the building materials industry, can they themselves bring the quality of the materials produced to a new, higher level?

- The Presidential Decree clearly outlines the main task to be addressed by the construction industry in the coming years. To do this, it is necessary to work to increase production and expand the range of new, modern materials and products to meet the demand for them in the domestic market, taking into account the implementation of national programs for housing and industrial construction.

oday, a full-scale construction of not only residential, administrative and tourist facilities, but also new industrial facilities has been launched across the country. In many ways, the effective work of the entire construction complex of the republic depends on how quickly it will be provided with building materials, structures and high-quality products. Therefore, the Government of the country is taking active measures to eliminate the shortage of building materials and improve their quality. And the most important role in achieving this goal belongs to the trend of investment in recent years not only in the construction and production of building materials, but also in research and development, as well as in the implementation of test work to improve technical properties and quality characteristics. raw materials and finished building materials and products.

According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated October 25, 2016, a specialized project research and development institute was established under the auspices of O'zqurilishmateriallari JSC in the form of a limited liability company QURILISHMATERIALLARILITI. For our part, according to the data on the reserves of natural solid minerals for the deposits of the republic, feasibility studies for construction materials have been developed. Presentations of projects were carried out in order to attract foreign investors and implement projects for organizing production. New factory and industrial production projects were developed with the obligatory availability of energy-saving technologies and innovative technical developments that would allow reducing the cost of construction products.

- On August 29, 2018, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev signed a decree awarding the member of the Council of members of the Knauf group of enterprises Mr. Nikolaus Wilhelm Knauf with the Order of Dustlik. Tell us more about the contribution of this company to the domestic economy, and what are the future prospects of your joint activities for the benefit of the prosperity of our country?

- KNAUF is a family-owned company and at the same time an international industrial group, uniting more than 150 enterprises in 45 countries on all continents of the globe with more than 28 thousand employees. The company is the world's largest manufacturer of building materials for interior and exterior decoration, heat and sound insulation products.
Knauf company for more than 15 years is one of the largest foreign investors in the construction industry of Uzbekistan. The first major investment project of KNAUF in Uzbekistan was the creation of the production of gypsum dry building mixes at the enterprise of the JV JSC “Bukharagips”. Becoming the owner of the state (controlling) shareholding of the Company, in 2005, the KNAUF company began work on the financial rehabilitation of the company, which allowed it to avoid bankruptcy, resume production of gypsum and start idle gypsum production. The amount of investment at that time amounted to $ 6.3 million. The solemn ceremony of launching the production of high-quality KNAUF dry building mixes, which took place in early October 2009, was one of the stages of the active investment activity of KNAUF in Uzbekistan, since In November 2009, construction of a new plant for the production of gypsum cardboard KNAUF sheets with a capacity of 25 million square meters was launched. m per year. In September 2011, the official opening of the enterprise IP LLC KNAUF Gypsum Bukhara, equipped with the most modern, high-tech equipment, took place. The total investment amounted to $ 51.5 million. The drywall sheets of various nomenclature produced today are in high demand in the domestic market.

At KNAUF enterprises in Uzbekistan, 235 workplaces have been created that employ trained, qualified local staff.

The KNAUF training center successfully functions on the basis of the enterprise KAUF Gips Bukhara LLC, wh ere young people are trained in specialties necessary for working in the KNAUF enterprise system.

Today there are 2 training, 2 consulting and 1 resource centers of the company. Training in installation technologies for KNAUF complete systems is included in the programs of 15 professional construction colleges in various regions of Uzbekistan.

Successful positioning of KNAUF-sheets both on the domestic and foreign markets of building materials allowed the KNAUF company management to decide on further investment in increasing the production capacity of the plasterboard line to 32 million square meters. m per year. This decision was also aided by the growing needs of the Uzbekistan construction market for KNAUF products in connection with the intensification of construction rates.

In 2018 alone, KNAUF, together with the German government organization for investment and development DEG-Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, has already made additional investments in the amount of $ 19.5 million to increase the productivity of the gypsum plasterboard and gypsum stone mining. In the entire history of investment activities in Uzbekistan, KNAUF investments in enterprises of the Bukhara region amounted to more than $ 75 million.

- If possible, tell us briefly what was done in two years under the Presidential Decree "On measures to further improve the organization of building industry management in the republic," and what are the most significant successes, in your opinion, have you achieved in this industry?

- It should be noted that the Company, together with the local khokimiyats and other competent departments and agencies, has defined specific goals and objectives in this direction.

Currently there is a huge demand for high-quality, affordable and modern building materials for the construction of social facilities, the reconstruction of non-residential and residential buildings and structures. The development of the industry is extremely important given that 55–60 percent of the total cost of construction work consists of building materials, and modern architecture needs new types of high-quality, affordable, easily digestible, seismic-resistant, innovative building materials.

Until 2017, 7 995 enterprises functioned in the industry, today there are 10,552 building materials producing enterprises operating in the country. If earlier 120 types of building materials were produced, today their number has exceeded 180 items. Mastering the domestic production of such types of building materials as ceramic tiles, sanitary ceramics, porcelain tiles, sandwich panels, soft roofing materials, basalt fittings, liquid wallpaper, heat-insulating materials that were previously imported, and some types of materials are generally new to the construction industry is also a high achievement. our industry.

Another important indicator of the success of the industry at the present time is the trend of steady growth in demand and demand for products manufactured by the companies that belong to the Company. If in the Company, the volume of export in 2016 amounted to $ 12.9 million, and in 2017 - $ 23.7 million, then for 9 months. In 2018, products worth $ 40.0 million were exported. The assigned task is 100.4 percent complete. Our building materials such as ceramic tiles, sanitary ceramics, dry building mixtures, brick, facing materials made of natural stone, lime, polypropylene pipes, fittings and many others are in great demand in the markets of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. Recently, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have joined the number of these countries - since 2017, export supplies of our sanitary ceramics products, asbestos products, ceramic tiles, building glass and cement have begun to these countries. It’s just impossible to tell everything in this interview. It should be noted that the Company does not stop at the achieved results and continues to take the necessary measures to increase the export potential of building materials. At the same time, specific goals and objectives were defined both to increase the range of exported products and to expand the geography of their exports.

- One of the most important aspects of a successful promotion is the introduction and use of resource-and energy-saving technologies and innovative technical developments, allowing to reduce the cost of building materials while improving their properties and qualities, and hence the construction work. What and how is done in this direction, what specialists, scientists and laboratories solve these problems?

- For this purpose, according to the Memorandum, “QURILISHMATERIALLARILITI” and the South Korean company KIST are negotiated to create a modern laboratory with the establishment of the latest high-tech equipment to determine the quality of the building materials produced.

At the moment, we have developed a “Methodology for calculating the norms of specific coal consumption for the production of lime and burnt brick” in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the rational use of energy” and other government documents.

Together with the STROM Research and Testing Center at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, joint research and development works are carried out in the field of building materials.

A modern, dynamic level of life development, rapid urbanization of cities and active transformations of rural areas make their adjustments to the construction industry of the country, in which, above all, the quality and ergonomics of both construction and raw materials and materials, as well as the entire construction complex, dominate. But the most important thing is the great, inexhaustible creative potential of a human resource. Traveling around construction sites and communicating with object builders, I see how enthusiastically people work, inspired not only by understanding the significance of their work, but also by the fact that their houses built with their hands will be preserved for very long times thanks to quality materials so that children and the builders' grandchildren are proud of their handicraft of our fathers and grandfathers, as we today are proud of the incorruptible beauty of the ancient monuments of architecture, erected by our ancestors and survived for thousands of years. We will also strive for such perfection in all our construction endeavors in order to leave a good memory of our descendants.