Belshina and SIBUR are developing their cooperation

JSC "Belshina" was visited by a delegation from LLC "SIBUR" - the managing company of PAO "SIBUR Holding", with which the Belarusian tire manufacturer has been cooperating for several decades, reports "Shinnik".

According to Dmitry Grinyak, the leading specialist in charge of procurement organization at the raw materials department of SIBUR's material and technical supply management, direct cooperation began in 2005. "In fact, there were connections between production sites within SIBUR's structure and Belshina before, when we purchased their synthetic rubbers through official representatives, but in 2005, a contract for direct supplies of products was signed, which simplified and consolidated the interaction schemes. Currently, our relations are regulated by a long-term contract valid until January 31, 2026," he added.

At the moment, PAO "Nizhnekamskneftekhim" and AO "Voronezhsintezkauchuk", both part of SIBUR, are the largest suppliers of synthetic rubber to Belshina, with their share in the total volume of purchases of this raw material exceeding 60%. Meanwhile, SIBUR's structures can offer almost all types of synthetic rubber approved for the production of Belarusian tires.

The partnership between the Russian and Belarusian companies is formalized in documents approved at international meetings, and, for example, in Protocol No. 13 of August 26, 2024, of the joint meeting of the working group on cooperation between enterprises of the petrochemical complexes of Belarus and Tatarstan, it is noted that new types of synthetic rubber produced by PAO "Nizhnekamskneftekhim" are being involved in production.

SIBUR constantly updates its range of synthetic rubbers, and many new types are being tested directly at Belshina. The wishes and recommendations of the tire manufacturer's technical specialists are then taken into account by the Russian partners, and the main goal of the recent meeting was to discuss issues related to product supplies for 2025.

"During the current meeting, there was a fruitful discussion of issues related to the homologation of experimental brands of butadiene-styrene rubbers of solution polymerization," noted Andrey Lyushtyk, the chief chemist and head of the central factory laboratory of the engineering and technical center of Belshina. "SIBUR's specialists presented a new portfolio of polybutadiene and polyisoprene rubbers. An agreement was reached on prospective cooperation in the framework of partial replacement of natural rubber with synthetic SSKI-970. Also, plans for further interaction were generally agreed upon."

Dmitry Grinyak added that the parties agreed to hold monthly video conferences with the participation of technical specialists from Belshina and SIBUR to "systematize the exchange of information on current production issues".

Photo: "Shinnik" / Andrey Chizhik