President Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Ararat marz

President Serzh Sargsyan visited Yerevan-based Spayka LLC, an international transportation company. The president toured the company, familiarized himself with the ongoing works, the investments underway and development programs, according to which in 2015 Spayka LLC plans to put into operation a workshop saturated with Italian fruits and vegetables recycling technologies with production capacity of more than 40 million packages a year, which will provide additional 100 jobs (presently the company employs about 300 people). An investment of about 4 million USD has been made in the workshop construction. According to the executives, the company intends to double its exports from 2016 to 2017, by attracting additional investments to buy new trucks and found new greenhouses and refrigeration complexes. In 2015, the company also plans to put into operation a service center for trucks, refrigeration semi-trailers and aggregates of the Armenian branches of Volvo, Renault, Bernard, Krone and Carrier, which will provide additional 25 jobs with the help of retrained specialists (the total cost of investments will comprise about 2 million USD). In Spayka, Armenia’s president also familiarized himself with the construction works of the mentioned center.

All in all, as a result of more than 30-million-dollar investments made by the company in the areas of agriculture and transport, a stable mechanism was set up to realize fresh and recycled Armenian agrifood in industrial volumes.

Later on, President Serzh Sargsyan has left for Ararat Marz. In Masis, the president visited Grand Master, a part of Grand Holding, which produces cardboard boxes and printing production, as well as Masis Tobacco and International Masis Tabak that purveys raw tobacco and recycles them and produces cigarettes. The president familiarized himself with the activities of the mentioned companies, volumes of sold products, investments and development programs. During the tour, Serzh Sargsyan was presented that since 2010 Grand Master has made about 15.9-million-dollar investments to get re-equipped and modernized. At present the company employs about 250 people with an average monthly salary of 183000 AMD. In 2015, goods worth 10.542.320 AMD have been sold, which is by 52.4 percent more compared with the same period of the previous year.

According to the executives, from 2010 to 2015, the investments made by Masis Tobacco have amounted to abput 5.1 million USD. Presently, the company employs about 500 people with an average monthly salary of 120.000 AMD. 318 tobacco drying cabins have been installed in the territory of the RA and the NKR, out of which 228 are based in Tavush, Ararat, Vayots Dzor and Armavir Marzes, and 90 in the regions of Askeran and Martuni. In 2015, 620 hectare piece of land has been cultivated which is expected to produce about 10.000 tons of raw tobacco. In 2015, goods worth 2.089.540 million AMD have been sold, which is by 83 percent more compared with the same period of the previous year.

From 2010 to 2015, International Masis Tabak has made about 14.5-million-dollar investments to acquire manufacturing equipment and production lines. Presently, the company employs about 1.330 employers with an average monthly salary of 172,000 AMD. 90 percent of the production is exported to more than 20 countries. In 2015, the profit for 10 months totaled 42.914.244 AMD, which is by 41 percent more compared with the same period of the previous year.

Armenia’s president also visited Ararat Cognac Factory A.K.Z. LLC located in Taperakan community. The company mainly produces cognac and wine. The production is being totally exported to the RF, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Germany. The president familiarized himself with the company’s investment projects - fruits and vegetables recycling workshop, including tomato paste. According to the executives, it will have production capacity of purveying and recycling 10.000 tons of fruits and vegetables. The workshop is expected to open by the beginning of the 2016 purveyance season. Apart from that, a new cellar for cognac aging, and the previous aging cellars are being reconstructed, which will allow increasing the actual production by 20 percent. The president was presented that with the new investments the company has acquired an up-to-date automatic production line for the bottling workshop and new equipments for cognac spirit distillation and cooling.

As part of the working visit, Armenia’s president visited a bituminous factory in Surenavan community, which is able to produce up to 3.000 tons of bituminous monthly. Using its full capacity, the factory will be able to produce up to 43.000 tons of production yearly, increasing the number of its employees from current 39 to 50. The mentioned bituminous volumes will satisfy the major part of RA and NKR road demands. The raw material is supplied through the railway, and the main supplier is Rosneft. Armenia’s president was presented that the company’s up-to-date equipment allows producing high quality bituminous that satisfies Armenia’s climatic conditions.