Kovrov, Russia – Egida is pressing on with plans to open a new foam plant in Kovrov, in the face of red tape and planning issues. The plant was expected to go on stream by the end of 2019, but a number of hurdles around environmental impact, land ownership and other legislation must be addressed first.
'We are planning a very expensive and sophisticated plant there, that is why we need to avoid all risks before starting to build,' said Timofey Kalinin, head of Egida's implementation and innovation department.
The Kazan-based flexible foamer now expects to launch the plant in 2020. The aim is still to ramp up production from 12kT/year.
It is being built close to Russian mattress-maker Askona, which has increased mattress capacity in the town to 1.8m unit/year. This was achhieved by improving internal processes, and by adding a fourth assembly line in Kovrov.
Egida has two foaming plants, one in Kazan and the other in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. It is in the process of optimising production at the two units. Kalinin said this included increasing capacity, improving quality and standardising products. He believes this will make it easier to move customers from one to the other, if required.
Looking ahead, the company has considered opening another plant in nearby Uzbekistan as a joint venture with a partner, but it has walked away from this idea. Instead, it is concentrating on Russian and Tatar production.
Egida now wants to make the Kazan operation a leading manufacturer of sophisticated, high-margin products, Kalinin added.
