Business news

Lukashenko urges to improve Atlant's performance

MINSK, 11 March (BelTA) – Atlant needs to improve its performance, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he set forth the corresponding task for the new head of the enterprise on 11 March, BelTA has learned.

The head of state gave the go-ahead to the appointment of Dmitri Kharitonchik as Atlant Director General. He previously worked as Deputy Industry Minister.

“As I understand, performance at Atlant is far from being satisfactory,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to Dmitry Kharitonchik, there has recently been a certain decline against the backdrop of an upward trend in 2021-2022, which is due to changes in the markets.

“Tell me, Dmitry, honestly, did you decide to take up the post yourself or are you just being pushed into this position?” the president asked.

“This is my decision. I started my working career at the plant (I worked at BelAZ for more than 12 years), so this is an absolutely conscious choice of mine,” Dmitry Kharitonchik said.

“I will be only happy if you succeed, because when I come to Atlant, I realize that there are problems there. People are not happy. We need to make it a real enterprise,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Refrigerators and washing machines are not bad. These products should be promoted so that our people buy them.”

According to Dmitry Kharitonchik, there are almost no complaints about Atlant goods. “Of course, we need to work on reducing the price and production costs. In a competitive environment, we are unlikely to make progress without it,” he added.

Dmitry Kharitonchik commented on the state of affairs at the enterprise as he spoke to the media after the meeting with the president: “In fact, the current situation is still quite problematic. This is primarily due to the fact that after two years of growth in production and exports last year, we have all noticed a very aggressive entry (many new brands, as well as cheaper equipment) from eastern countries into our joint market with the Russian Federation. Of course, this could not but have an impact on sales volumes.”

According to the new director general, the enterprise has already taken certain measures. This is, for example, the launch of products that are in demand today. First of all, these are refrigerators and freezers with No Frost system. Efforts are also necessary to increase the production of washing machines, as this Atlant equipment is currently in demand.

“The most important thing in this situation is to continue work to reduce production costs. In a highly competitive environment, it is simply impossible to do without it. First of all, we should look at improving the design, technological processes. We need to offer a product that the customer really needs and that will be competitive,” Dmitry Kharitonchik said.

print version

make home page

add to bookmarks