Armenal plant gets new director 

ArmInfo.The general director of the foil rolling plant "Armenal" has changed. As ArmInfo learned, Tigran Arustamyan, who previously worked as the production director, replaced Maxim Karamanov, who worked as the head of the enterprise for only six months.

Due to sanctions, the Armenal plant, owned by the Russian company  Rusal, began to lose markets. In 2023, Armenia exported 25.2 thousand  tons of aluminum foil, with an annual decrease in volumes of 22.5%  (against a decline of 4.2% in 2022). Accordingly, the customs value  of exported aluminum foil also decreased - by 31.5% to $ 87.3  million. Already at the end of the first half of 2024, Armenia  exported 10.1 thousand tons of aluminum foil, which is 22.8% lower  than the figure a year ago (against an acceleration of the decline a  year earlier from 8.6% to 16.5%). The customs value of exported foil  decreased by 35.9% to $ 31.6 million. This is evidenced by the data  of the Customs Service of the Republic of Armenia. The country's  Ministry of Economy has begun to develop a project - a strategy that  would allow foil rolling production to be preserved.

The previous director of the enterprise, Karamanov, was appointed  relatively recently in July last year. He directly represented the  interests of the group. Some experts believed that the appointment  from outside was connected with the pre-sale preparation of the  enterprise. The media then circulated information that the Tashir  group of companies (owner Samvel Karapetyan) was considering the  possibility of acquiring Armenal, however, neither the Tashir group  nor the Ministry of Economy commented on this information.  "But we  are doing and will do everything possible so that tomorrow and in the  future such an industrial power and important asset of the country as  Armenal would work in our country," - emphasized then the Minister of  Economy of the Republic of Armenia Gevork Papoyan. It is not yet  known whether the negotiations on the sale of the enterprise have  been completed and what is the current position of Rusal on this  issue.