Johnson Matthey has announced plans to establish an autocatalyst manufacturing plant in Russia.

The firm said it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the first deputy governor of Russia's Krasnoyarsk region and the general director of Krastsvetmet Metal, which marked the first step in a move to ramp up its presence in the region.

The MoU sets out the provision of a brownfield site on which the manufacturing plant can be built and will ultimately form part of a multi-million pound investment.

Johnson Matthey has targeted what it sees as a major growth market, with the additional demand for emission controls making it a suitable site for the autocatalysts manufacturer – particularly given the introduction of new emissions legislation later this year.

European managing director Paul Framp welcomed the move as a key advance in Johnson Matthey's European strategy.

"We have been closely monitoring the progress of the auto industry in Russia for some time and we have well established sales to the indigenous car manufacturers," he explained.

"The last few years have seen significant growth in local vehicle demand and we now seeing major investments from established European, Asian and American original equipment manufacturers.

"We feel that this is the right time to secure our place in the market and we are very pleased to be able to strengthen our working relationship with Krastsvetmet and to utilise their great experience with precious metals," he added.

Johnson Matthey will own and operate the factory independently under the terms of the MoU and will buy precious metal salts from Krastsvetmet, building on "significant" business links with the region.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd