The history of production, unique to Russia, began six years ago in a laboratory in Germany, where a group of Russian scientists developed the idea of creating synthetic filaments for heating using a completely new technology.
In April 2022, a factory was opened in the Khrabrovo industrial zone, which produces conductive yarns for heating, meshes, fabrics and elements based on them.
At the end of May 2022, businessmen from the region visited Ampertex. The free trip was organized as part of a joint project of the Entrepreneurship Support Center “My Business” and RBC Kaliningrad – “Day of Open Doors for Business”.
Acquaintance with the factory began with a presentation and a brief history of the plant, then the most secretive guests were shown – a workshop with samples of equipment and products, the process of impregnation with threads – and told how high-precision machines work.
“The idea of creating heating filaments using carbon as a heat carrier and conductor of current is not new. We created our own filament using our own technology. Our laboratory produces black heating filaments based on polypropylene and carbon additives. This is a monofilament, inside which various carbon components are hidden , which, when stretched, allows to achieve constant heating and conduct a current along the length of the filament.The uniqueness of the technology lies in the fact that to this day all conductive filaments have two components: there was a warp thread, and a conductive layer was deposited on it.Andrei Kozlovsky, Director Commercial for Ampertex, “Because of this technology, it is unstable.”
The factory has an area of 2.5 thousand square meters. The latest German equipment has been installed, which can produce up to 500 thousand square meters. m of material per year. The plant now employs 16 people, but after it is fully operational, the number of employees will increase to 35. It takes 1 day to reload the 2000-thread loom – each element is entered into the machine manually.
“Our threads and mesh have three main properties: heating, radio wave protection and static electricity dissipation. The latter makes it possible to weave personal protective equipment from this thread. The heating temperature of the elements can reach 90 degrees. We plan to make a thread that can be placed under the asphalt surface And we are already discussing this project with the Moscow authorities, ”explains Kozlovsky.
Entrepreneurs were shown samples of finished products – components for warm steps and walls, antifreeze coating for bus stops, stairs, pedestrian crossings, heating pipes and airplanes. Ampertex technologies can be used in the textile, housing, communal services, aerospace, medical, agricultural and construction industries.
“Often they ask, what is the magic of your thread and what will be more profitable – to use a heating cable, which is abundant in the market, or a Chinese infrared network? We answer that despite the fact that we produce threads, mesh, etc., we cannot beat On the laws of physics.The amount of electricity you spent on heating the element – our warm cable – will release a lot of heat.The question is in the management system and the level of integration.Due to its thin thickness, the Ampertex mesh can be as close as possible to the heating surface and immediately release heat to the surface itself, As the commercial director says.
Ampertex production goes hand in hand with science. The company began to open a laboratory on the basis of IKBFU. Kant. There, scientists from St. Petersburg are engaged in the study and dispersal of materials, the search for the plant and the search for new ideas for the use of heating filaments.
Three questions about managing an innovative project
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1. How does the factory operate under the new economic conditions?
When choosing a site for production, the management considered four options: Serbia, the Moscow region, the Leningrad region and Kaliningrad. The argument in favor of choosing the Khrabrovo industrial zone was the residence in the special economic zone and the large logistical capabilities of the region. Until recently, the main customers of Ampertex were companies from Western Europe.
“Today, our sales market has changed dramatically, and we work with Russian partners. Our mission is to become the best in the world in the production of heating networks and fabrics. To prepare a product and bring it to market is not our thing. We find partners who have an idea or have a business,” says Andrey Kozlovsky. parallel”.
According to him, 80% of the components of the basic thread are Russian. Now the company is negotiating with suppliers from Russia, Korea and India, trying to find an alternative for the Europeans. Today, the company “Ampertex” completes the certification and production of prototypes.
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2. How is the company managed?
“Currently, there are few production staff. At first, a team of managers was selected in areas with fairly high competencies, who then built the work for themselves. Our manager is not just a manager who sits down, answers calls and goes to meetings. We have a manager who makes documents, works with his hands, walks with men, makes something according to samples, prepares something.We are guided by ESG principles of company management (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance).Environmentally – we produce products that are almost 100% recyclable.Social – we value our employees.Company – We are open in the management system, it is flexible, ”explains Irina Kopp, director of business development at the company.
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3. What are the advantages of Ampertex production?
“The advantage of our company is that we lay the basis of products here. We can change the parameters – conductivity, thread thickness,” says Alexey Goldaev, technical director of the company.
When production began, the RnD (Research and Development) circle arose. It solves problems that have long gone beyond the limits of production problems.
“We are faced with the problem that the raw materials come in completely unstable parameters – the batch is different from the batch. This led to the understanding that we should make this part of the raw materials here,” summarized Goldive.
Tips for those planning to launch an innovative production:
It all depends on what the area is. Here you need not only to prepare for long-term investments, but also to have a reliable investor who has confidence in the product.
Tour participants’ impressions
Elena Kraisvetnaya, entrepreneur:
“It was very interesting to see the plant and to hear the smart people. What surprised me the most is that production and science are intertwined here, that scientists are working here. It’s great that they are really working on creating something new, and that is our entire production.
Vadim Roshak, Promproektstroy:
“The tour was well organized, we heard a lot of useful information. We work in a design organization, we understood the production itself, but in terms of the organization of business processes, it was useful. It will be interesting, when the plant begins to operate, to look at its competitive advantages ” .
Alexey Smirnov, Technocom:
“They are great. We found out how to implement the idea, on what equipment it can be implemented, and build cases. It will be interesting to see how they end up implementing their business ideas.”
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