Saturday, August 10 2019 15:30

ArmInfo. Swiss businessman of Armenian descent Vardan Sirmakes and Gevorg Gasparyan invested over $ 4mln in the creation of a cotton spinning mill in the city of  Maralik, Shirak region of Armenia. The official opening ceremony of  the enterprise today, on August 10, was attended by the Prime  Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

As Gasparyan stated in an interview with reporters, at the first  stage it is planned to produce about 300 tons of threads per month.  Yarn and threads will be used for the production of gloves, socks and  other knitwear, which is planned to be mainly exported. The main  customer today is the Tavush Textile company, which used to purchase  raw materials abroad. Over time, as the co-owner of the company  claims, the enterprise will gather small factories around itself and  become a kind of cluster for the entire textile industry of the  republic. "In the end, we neutralize the dependence of the Armenian  manufacturer on foreign markets," he said.

Today, according to Gasparyan, only a small part of the plant's  territory is used - about 10%. The plant, as the co-owner of the  enterprise recalls, was opened on the site of the old cotton mill. In  the Soviet years, 1,700 people worked there, 60 of which in  accounting. "Why do we need 60 accountants? If we saved so many jobs,  then our yarn would go at the price of gold," he said.

At present, despite the fact that the average salary at the  enterprise is 297 thousand drams, the key problem is precisely the  personnel - the old, qualified personnel were not replaced by new  ones. At this stage, the company employs 41 people.

As Gasparyan pointed out, the company has already received tax  incentives from the government, taking into account the expected  investments of $ 13mn. As part of the investment package, it is  planned to expand the production area and organize the production of  medical cotton wool and cotton buds.  The cotton spinning factory  currently purchases raw materials from countries cotton producers -  Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, etc. In the near future, the company  management hopes to purchase from a local manufacturer.

Recall that on December 7, 2018, the Sasteks textile enterprise was  opened in the city of Gyumri in the Shirak region of Armenia.  According to Christian Geledzhi, Director of Sastex, the company has  no problems with sales markets. Contracts for the supply of products  worth $ 1-2 million were concluded with 7 European enterprises. The  manufacturer remains to provide the necessary volumes. It was  reported that the company's management plans in April next year to  open a similar enterprise in Vanadzor of the Lori region. Work is  underway to open workshops in Artik and Spitak. "My business partner  Vardan Sirmakesh decided to build such factories in different parts  of Armenia. The next enterprise will be created in Spitak.  There we  have a problem with the territory, so we turn to you to solve this  problem," Geledzhi said.  According to him, over the past 27 years,  entrepreneur Vardan Sirmakesh has invested billions of drams in the  Armenian economy and will continue to invest.

It should be noted that in October last year, the first cotton crop  was harvested in Armenia. This initiative belongs to the famous  businessman Gagik Khachikyan. It is curious that from one bush of  cotton 100-120 boxes were collected. According to experts, this is  the highest quality cotton, and the land in Armenia is suitable for  this kind of business. In the future, the entrepreneur intends to  build a spinning mill in the country, but for now cotton will be spun  at the enterprises of Maralik and Tsovazard.