“TAIF's partnership with world leaders is favourable not only for the republic but also for the country”

Continuation of long-term cooperation

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is a leading business event, where representatives of the world's largest companies, heads of states, political leaders, eminent experts from various fields come every year. Traditionally, this economic platform was chosen by TAIF Group for signing two agreements with strategically important partners — the French company Schneider Electric and the Japanese company Yokogawa Electric CIS.

“The agreements will describe how the preparation will take place if the specialist will be trained in the technologies that we use, and how the equipment will be manufactured specifically for our enterprises, which they produce, and how it will be operated further,” Albert Shigabutdinov, the director general of TAIF PSC, divulged the content of the contracts.

The first was the document between TAIF and Yokogawa Electric CIS. The agreement was signed by Deputy General Director of Corporate Governance, Property & Investments at TAIF PSC Ruslan Shigabutdinov and Director General of Yokogawa Electric CIS LLC Vladimir Savelyev in the presence of the president of Tatarstan, Director General of TAIF PSC Albert Shigabutdinov and Chairman of the Board of Yokogawa Electric Corporation Takashi Nishijima.

Yokogawa and Tatarstan are connected by long-term cooperation — the company is engaged in the automation of the enterprises and engineering centres. TAIF has long been one of the main partners in the region for Japan. Today the products of Yokogawa Electric Corporation are widely used at the enterprises of the group — Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC, Kazanorgsintez PJSC, TAIF-NK PSC.

We consider any new projects that will arise in Tatarstan as further development opportunities

The signing of the agreement has become a continuation of long-term cooperation between the companies. The document identifies the main areas of cooperation and fixes prices for standard equipment manufactured by Yokogawa Corporation, taking into account discounts for TAIF Group enterprises.

“The agreement is quite general in nature and stipulates the full range of services and solutions that we are ready to offer to TAIF Group,” Takashi Nishijima told Realnoe Vremya.

“We have a long-term relationship with TAIF. We are the supplier of automation systems, but in addition, we are also the supplier of solutions aimed at improving the efficiency of enterprises, including projects for the new construction of petrochemical and oil refining sector. In addition to business activities, we are also engaged in work in terms of training and education. This is our contribution to the development of the company,” said the chairman of the board of Yokogawa Electric Corporation. According to him, the company opened a service centre in Nizhnekamsk, an office in Kazan. And this is one of the factors of localization.

“We work in the oil and gas industry, and any new projects that will arise in Tatarstan we consider as further opportunities in terms of development,” Mr Nishijima outlined the prospects.

“TAIF Group is always focused only on advanced technologies”

The second agreement was signed between TAIF and Schneider Electric. The signatures under the document were put by Director General of TAIF PSC Albert Shigabutdinov and Senior Vice President, President of Schneider Electric in Russia and CIS Johan Vanderplaetse.

French Schneider Electric has operated globally since the 19th century. The company offers complex solutions in power engineering, petrochemical complex, metallurgy and IT, is engaged in industrial automation and modernization of equipment. Today, in Russia, Schneider Electric has six plants and three logistics centres. Tatarstan is one of the priority directions for the French company. Among the partners of the company, there are the largest enterprises of the republic, R&D centre in Innopolis, which opened exactly a year ago, and in the Kazan Power Engineering University — the centre of competence of Schneider Electric.

The cooperation between TAIF and the French company in the field of commissioning of equipment began in 2017. The new document has become its complement and continuation. The agreement is intended to develop the long-term relations of the partners in the field of digital transformation at the enterprises of TAIF Group and in Tatarstan.

TAIF Group is always aimed at introduction of new effective technologies

“The global digitalization of the world economy and industry contributes to that in the competition the leading roles are played by companies that not only keep up with the times but also know how to look into the future. TAIF Group is always focused on the introduction of new effective technologies, so we actively use the best, most advanced technological and technical solutions in the world in our industrial production. Therefore, the choice of Schneider Electric as a partner is absolutely thoughtful and logical,” Director General of TAIF PSC Albert Shigabutdinov explained to journalists.

“Schneider Electric is a company with a long and rich history. TAIF Group and Schneider Electric have long years of fruitful cooperation. Our companies have a need for solutions for power distribution and automation of production processes for the reconstruction or construction of new enterprises. Here we can add a relatively new direction — information security, automated process control systems (APCS),” added the head of the Tatarstan company.

The attention will be paid to educational programmes, the supply of modern digital solutions, equipment, components and spare parts produced by Schneider Electric. In addition, the document will fix corporate discounts for the group's enterprises.

Emphasis on digitalization

“The new document is mostly about production facility digitalization of TAIF Group on the latest technologies. Today, digitalization is a reality that must be introduced. We are proud that we have developed a roadmap for the introduction of digital technologies in the enterprises of TAIF,” Johan Vanderplaetse commented to Realnoe Vremya.

The president of Schneider Electric in Russia and the CIS also noted that the companies are beginning to cooperate in the field of distributed energy, the active work is underway to build a “smart” office within the new media complex of TAIF.

“Tatarstan is one of the leading regions for the introduction of innovative technologies, and it is a great honour for Schneider Electric to work with one of the key companies in the region — TAIF Group, which allows to introduce and develop solutions that really increase the efficiency of enterprises,” Vanderplaetse believes.

Mr Vanderplaetse also noted that in addition to digitalization, there is another necessary direction today — protection from cyber attacks.

“We have protection against external penetration in the system. The same systems are relevant in Russia. The more cyber-attacks appear, the more digital technologies are introduced,” said Johan Vanderplaetse. Today, Schneider Electric equipment is already established and widely exploited at Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Kazanorgsintez, stations of TGC-16 JSC, TAIF-NK gas stations, at the social facilities of TAIF PSC, office buildings and business centres of the company.”

TAIF Group has a serious strategy of investments in new projects, where the most modern technologies are used

“Today, the programme 4.0 is the most modern automation technology, in order to improve efficiency. To do this, we need specialists, design solutions, modern equipment,” Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov told Realnoe Vremya after the signing.

“TAIF Group has a serious strategy of investments in new projects, where the most modern technologies are laid. Both Yokogawa and Schneider Electric are world leaders. The fact that these leaders have chosen TAIF as their strategic partner says that they come to us for a long time. This is positive not only for the republic but also for the country as a whole,” the head of the republic concluded.