Two decades of success
On February 8, the Gubakha Palace of Culture "Energetik" hosted a solemn event dedicated to a significant date – the 20th anniversary of the Metafrax Chemicals Pre-Production Workshop. Despite the relatively young age of the division, its history is inextricably linked with the large-scale construction project of the M-750 complex, which became a turning point in the development of the Gubakha Chemical Plant.
The origins of the workshop go back to 1979, when the construction of a complex for the production of methanol with a capacity of 750 thousand tons per year began in Gubakha. In 1981, the construction of the nitrogen and oxygen station building began at the "Big Methanol" site. Nikolai Ivanovich Karagodin became the first head of the newly formed division, under whose leadership the staff of the nitrogen and oxygen station had been recruited since August 1982.
The modern history of the Pre-Production Workshop officially dates back to December 7, 2004, when five production units were merged into a single structure. Today, the workshop is the largest division of the Ammonia-Urea-Melamine (AUM) complex. The Pre-Production Workshop employs 145 employees in four departments: air separation, ammonia discharge and supply, preparation, and shipment of finished products.
Victor Maier, Deputy Managing Director for Production, delivered a congratulatory speech at the gala. The head noted the importance of trouble-free operation and wished the team further industrial success.
– Today we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Pre-Production Workshop, which traces its history back to the beginning of the construction of the M-750. In 2004, five divisions were merged into a single Pre-Production Workshop, and since then the workshop has demonstrated high professionalism and efficiency. I sincerely congratulate the team on this significant date. I wish you all good health and good luck. I would like to express my gratitude to our veterans, to whom I wish long life," Victor Maier congratulated.
The head of the pre-production workshop, Sergey Smetanin, also expressed special gratitude to the veterans and current employees for their dedicated work and significant contribution to the development of the division.
In his speech, Alexey Dolganov, Director of the AUM Complex, emphasized the significant role of the Pre-Production Workshop in the production chain of the entire Metafrax and congratulated those present on the anniversary date:
– In 2023, the Pre-Production Workshop became part of the AUM Complex. The Pre-Production Workshop is one of the main links in the Metafrax production chain: from obtaining nitrogen and air to shipping finished products. Thanks to the professionalism and well-coordinated work of the Pre-Production Workshop team, the stable functioning of all departments of the enterprise is ensured.
A special moment of the celebration was the honoring of the workshop veterans, to whom the artists of Energetik presented flowers in recognition of their professionalism and dedication. The guests of the event were also able to immerse themselves in the history of the division through the demonstration of archival photographs.
The evening continued with a solemn awarding ceremony for distinguished production workers who made a significant contribution to the development of the workshop.
Thus, mechanical engineer Vladimir Silveistrov, operators for the preparation of raw materials and the release of semi-finished products and products Vladimir Ivanov and Igor Peskishev, air separation operators Alexander Timoshenko, shift supervisor Sergey Kondrakov and operators for the preparation of raw materials and the release of semi-finished products and products Alexander Fedoseev received their awards in the Golden Fund nomination.
In the "Stability is a sign of excellence" nomination, Oleg Starkov, Deputy Head of the Pre-Production Workshop, Dmitry Kolpakov, machine operator of compressor units, Andrey Dudin, operator of air separation, Vladimir Kazymov, Head of the department, Sergey Sakharov, operator of raw material preparation and release of semi–finished products and products, were awarded.
The winners of the commendation in the "Valuable Employee" nomination were shift supervisor Evgeny Ustrugov, Nodar Santeladze, an operator for the preparation of raw materials and the release of semi-finished products and products, Yuri Voronin, an operator for the preparation of raw materials and the release of semi-finished products and products, and Dmitry Fedoseev, Deputy Head of the Pre-Production Workshop. Denis Serogodsky and Ruslan Gabdrakhmanov, compressor unit machine operators, Mark Pinaev, Ivan Tikhomirov and Marat Shakurov, Alexey Tereshin, Head of the ammonia discharge and supply department, and Vladislav Medvedev, shift supervisor, received awards in the "Unlimited Resource" nomination.
Ekaterina Rakovits, Deputy Chairman of the Metafrax Chemicals trade union organization, addressed congratulations to the perpetrators of the celebration. She presented letters of thanks from the regional organization of the Russian Chemical Industry Union to timekeeper Natalia Onokhova, leading economist Anna Bazhenova, and air separation operators Irina Podyapolskaya, Nikita Sychkov, and Alexander Marusin.
The festive atmosphere was created by the bright performances of the artists: Kirill Yesin and Ekaterina Arkhilina, Alexey Chetvertkov, the Rainbow dance group and the Rechenka folk song ensemble.
The anniversary of the Pre-Production Workshop was the first in a series of festive events dedicated to the anniversaries of various divisions and the 70th anniversary of Metafrax Chemicals in 2025.