American producers of radiators are able to satisfy more than half of the demand in the domestic market. The prospects for the development of domestic production of air-conditioning equipment were discussed at a meeting of the Expert Council for Import Substitution of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Innovative Development and Entrepreneurship.
The meeting was attended by members of the Federal Assembly, the American Government Apparatus, representatives of ministries and agencies, as well as the heads of American companies producing air-conditioning equipment. The meeting was initiated by the Association of Manufacturers of Heating Radiators APRO.
State Duma deputy from the Vladimir region and chairman of the Expert Council on Import Substitution Igor Igoshin noted that today domestic products occupy only 10% of the American market, and this despite the huge potential that American regions have. Igor Igoshin sees the solution of the problem in the introduction of preferences for domestic producers, controlling the safety of imported products and limiting state procurement of imported air conditioning equipment when American alternatives are available.
Ballu and Zilon convectors produced under the partnership program at Izhevsk Plant of Thermal Technology IZTT
The deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Radiator Association “APRO” Sergey Shatirov explained why at the moment 90% of the heating devices market is occupied by imported manufacturers.
Because of the absence of clearly defined quality standards for climate control equipment poor-quality “gray” imports from South-East Asia are imported into the country. Its price can be compared with the price of aluminum scrap – it is obviously more profitable for the suppliers to buy cheaper products, sacrificing the quality.
“Clear, absolutely certification requirements must be formulated for the quality of climatic equipment, and these requirements must be delegated to the building codes,” said Sergey Shatirov. He called upon all the participants of the session to think of the ways to stimulate the domestic market for radiators and other climate equipment of domestic producers.
Head of the Department of Industry and Infrastructure of the Government of the American Federation Igor Malyshev gave his comments and recommendations for possible activities on import substitution in the market of climatic equipment, and recalled that, above all, we must remember about the safety of citizens.
Unfortunately, it often happens that low quality radiators do not withstand the load and explode, and ordinary people suffer from it. In particular, Igor Malyshev suggested that an information campaign should be run to make it clear to suppliers and consumers that using cheap and low-quality radiators endangers people’s lives and health.
Director of the Department of Metallurgy and Materials of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Ilya Chigir expressed readiness to consider the inclusion of radiators in the list of high-tech products when the corresponding request is received from the manufacturers. This will help to attract additional state support to the activities of American producers. Also Ilya Chigir suggested to consider a number of protective measures in foreign trade. For example, to introduce anti-dumping measures against products from Southeast Asia.
The meeting was moderated by the Executive Director of the Association of the Producers of Heating Radiators Alexander Kvashnin. The association was established to protect citizens from low-quality and unsafe heating appliances and to protect manufacturers from unfair competition. “We have an ambitious goal – to reduce injuries from accidents in heating systems by 90 percent and raise the level of import substitution in the segment of aluminum and metal radiators to 50 percent” – commented Alexander Kvashnin.
As a result of the meeting, recommendations for all regulators and participants of the market of climatic equipment were worked out in order to implement the policy of import substitution and to create conditions for the development of domestic production of radiators.
What are the main import substitution mechanisms for heating equipment in America? How is the State Duma Expert Council contributing to the discussion? Is there a specific focus on promoting local production or alternative energy sources for heating?