Business news

GOMEL, 10 August (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is confident that OAO Gomselmash can reach new heights. The head of state made the relevant statement as he talked to Gomselmash employees on 10 August, BelTA has learned.

The head of state said: “Well done, Gomselmash has a future. We will definitely keep the enterprise running. I am confident we will raise it to new heights if only you do your jobs.”

According to Alexander Lukashenko, for a long time he had wanted to visit Gomselmash and see how previous commitments were being taken care of, particularly those of the last two-three years. “Back then you asked for some aid. You were given aid,” reminded the president.

The promise of the company’s product engineers to create a super harvester was another reason for the visit. After the tour of Gomselmash Alexander Lukashenko intends to see these harvesters at work in the field in the next few days.

The state of Gomselmash and prospects of its development were also mentioned during Alexander Lukashenko’s visit. The head of state saw the products the company makes. The product range has been greatly expanded in the last ten years. The latest products and prototypes were also on display. Gomselmash Director General Alexander Kamko presented detailed information about the company’s financial and economic performance, including the investment program, loan debts, manufacturing plans, and the expansion of export sales geography. It was noted that the import substitution effect of Belarus-made harvesters exceeded $2.2 billion in 2010-2017.

Alexander Lukashenko said: “You want to modernize the enterprise, invest in manufacturing. Loans are available. But you need government guarantees. We will talk about it. Most likely we will back you up but with certain commitments.”

Alexander Lukashenko stressed that high quality of products is the key condition for the successful operation of an enterprise: “Quality of products – doing your job honestly – is a number one priority. I want executives and blue-collar workers to remember it. If you want to compete and win in the face of unfair competition, you should deliver quality products. You should make your best.”

“You make rather good harvesters and other machines but the quality needs to be better than that of German and American products. Then we will freely compete with them,” the head of state was convinced. “We cannot say all the time that our products are cheaper. We should sell them at higher prices, too, in order to raise salaries, to upgrade enterprises, invest in manufacturing instead of taking expensive bank loans or begging for some subsidies.”

Alexander Lukashenko stressed that the state has no intention of abandoning Gomselmash and similar large enterprises. “You may have heard a lot of idle talk claiming that it is high time the giant companies were split into pieces and sold off. We are not going to axe them or sell them. It is our nation’s legacy. Not only this generation’s. We will do our best to preserve and reinforce these enterprises,” said the president.