In 2023, IEK GROUP acquired assets of the French company Legrand, including the "Kontaktor" plant located in Ulyanovsk. After the deal, "Kontaktor" developed as an independent brand, but at the beginning of this year, a decision was made to fully integrate the former Legrand assets into the structure of the Russian holding.
Financial Director of IEK GROUP Mikhail Gorbachev was appointed to the position of General Director of JSC "Kontaktor". In an interview with the Ulpressa portal, he spoke about the prospects of the "Kontaktor" plant and the plans of the new owner to invest funds in its development.
The integration of the acquired assets, including "Kontaktor", into the structure of IEK GROUP is a stage in implementing the holding's strategy to unite all enterprises and brands into a single ecosystem. Upon completion of this process, the plant will become one of the production sites of IEK GROUP.
Over 300 million rubles were directed to the import substitution program for the Ulyanovsk plant in 2024 alone. An increase in investment volume is planned in the future. Existing production capacities will be modernized, and the assortment will be supplemented with new products, including modular equipment with a wide range of applications.
Furthermore, IEK GROUP, with state support, is ready to invest at least 2 billion rubles within the next three to five years in the construction of a new production complex in the "Zavolzhye" zone. This will create new jobs, and the current workforce of the enterprise will be fully preserved.
Among the priority tasks of IEK GROUP is also the development and expansion of competencies of the "Kontaktor" testing center (ИЦЭО). In this unique laboratory, testing can be conducted not only on alternating current but also on direct current, and at sufficiently high power. The center is equipped with two generators, one at 25 MW, the other at 10 MW. The equipment allows generating currents up to 150,000 A.
After joining IEK GROUP, the testing center acquired important competencies and a technological base for further development. In particular, it was here that the FORMAT PRO LVSBs developed by IEK GROUP engineers were tested, and test benches for modular equipment are already in operation. The testing center is open for cooperation with key players in the electrical equipment market, many of whom are its regular customers. Plans include developing capacities for testing wiring devices and control gear.
IEK GROUP interacts with the government of the Ulyanovsk region. At a meeting attended by Governor Alexey Russkikh, IEK GROUP President Mikhail Petrov, General Director of JSC "Kontaktor" Mikhail Gorbachev, First Deputy General Director of JSC "Kontaktor" Evgeny Khrapovitsky, and Deputy General Director for General Affairs of JSC "Kontaktor" Lyudmila Nekrasova, the creation of a federal-level special economic zone in Zavolzhye, as well as programs for subsidizing research and development and import substitution, implemented, among others, with the participation of the Industrial Development Fund, were discussed.