Empty Title

Seventy years later in Moscow demand for Ukrainian granite has again risen. Since the mid-1990s, a waterfall of oil, gas, other raw materials and dollars has been pouring on the Russian capital. Intensive building and reconstruction started - of the best material and to last for centuries. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Moscow Zoo, Luzhniki subway station, the Pushkin Museum, the Grand Theater, and many more other objects have been built of Ukrainian granite that was supplied by the Ukrainian Stone Processing Company headquartered in Kyiv.

The choice of granite as mass building material was no accident. The last decade has been marked by resumed interest in developed countries for this beautiful material resistant to unfavorable conditions. Asphalt is too soft; in the heat it gives off bitumen and tar. Marble is too porous: it easily absorbs water and can be destroyed by harmful waste. Granite paving and facades are ideal options for a city that wants to be both neat and modern.

The choice of Ukrainian Stone Processing as the main supplier for the renovation of Kyiv (the reconstruction of Cabinet's and Kyiv City Administration buildings, and of the square in front of Mykhailivsky Cathedral) and many other world cities is no accident either. Ukraine has the largest reserves of granite of the former Soviet states, 129 confirmed deposits.

Unfortunately, the 12 to 15 deposits that are being mined these days are neglected. Italian specialists think that maintaining a granite quarry properly requires $2 million a year. To keep the stone undamaged, quarry workers use diamond cables instead of blasting. Thus money - big money - is needed. And processing the quarried granite requires no less in investment. As a result, now there are only 16 companies in the stone-processing market, and only five or six are worth mentioning. Ukrainian Stone Processing is one of the leaders. It started in 1995 by selling granite goods and now owns two deposits in Mykolayiv and Zhytomyr oblasts and several factories. Among its equipment there are unique machine tools worth $250,000-300,000 each. Recently the company bought an Italian machine with five directions of operation, which is the first in Eastern Europe and the fourth in the world.

To avoid dependence on outside conveyers the company has its own vehicle pool with twelve new Renault trucks.

The company's general director Oleksandr Hinzburh, who considers himself to be the successor of Ukrainian stonemason traditions, explains: "For the restoration of old buildings often many handmade architectural details and complex ornaments are needed. To decorate the Cathedral of Christ the Savior fifty specialists were required. When we started looking for them and turned everything upside down we hardly found ten, who were about 60 years old. It is very hard to restore things that are lost. At the same time, the granite goods market is very large: it is one of few markets in the world that steadily grows by 8-10% annually. The consumption of granite in France alone reaches $340 million per year, and this is not the biggest market. In 1997 Ukraine exported granite for $12 million, and in favorable conditions in five years it could export for $70 to 80 million."

Of course, this is impossible without massive capital. The company's main partners are in Great Britain, France, and Italy. The partnership started based on trust, on a word of honor. Now the company is negotiating with financial institutions with worldwide influence on investments in stone quarrying and processing. The company exports approximately 92-96% of its production. It plans to supply a third of it to CIS countries and the rest to Europe and the USA. "It is very difficult to break into the world market. Ukrainian granite has been well known since Soviet days but then it was sold by Italians. And they registered it under their own trademarks. Now we are registering our own Ukrainian trademarks," says the 32 year old general director. It should be noted that Ukrainian Stone Processing exports finished goods such as stone tiles, building details, and paving stones.

Ukraine inherited tremendous stores of natural resources, and all we have to do is to manage them well. Unlike our intrepid agrarians and heroic miners who are tell us over and over about the best chernozem in the world and whine that "priority sectors are badly financed by the government," Mr. Hinzburh admits that he does not see any special obstacles to his work. The main problems are that the delays of VAT return from the budget are so long - about 10 months - and it is impossible to get loans on acceptable conditions inside the country. But both of them can be solved. The most important thing is not to waste time. For China has recently carved out for itself at least 12% of the granite market. And whether or not Ukraine will be the main supplier on this market depends on Ukraine itself - and on its citizens who work in the Ukrainian Stone Processing Company.

By Roman KHIMYCH, The Day