French technical textiles manufacturer Porcher Industries has opened a new manufacturing subsidiary - Porcher Modern Materials - in the Borovsk district of Russia’s Kaluga Region. The opening ceremony which took place on 18 December was attended by Vladimir Potyomkin, Deputy Governor of Kaluga Region, as well as Porcher representatives including Viktor Burkov, Director General, Porcher Modern Materials.

Porcher industries, is an international group dedicated to the development and production of innovative products, combining textiles and chemistry for multiple industrial application for various markets including automotive, building and industrial, composites, electronics and sports.

Porcher Industries is said to have invested about EUR 2.5 million in the new facility with 10 initial jobs being created and a further 20 to be added in the near future. The new plant has a design capacity of 20-40 tonnes per annum and Porcher plans to increase this to 200 tonnes in five years.

“This is the first enterprise Porcher Industries has opened in Russia. It manufactures industrial textiles with various technical properties, used in aircraft building and rocket industries, as well as other advanced branches of the economy,” the Kaluga Region Development Corporation said in a statement.

“At the first stage it will produce an estimated 20 tonnes to 40 tonnes of products a year. The output may be increased, if need be. Inside the region the Obninsk-based state-run research and production enterprise Tekhnologia will be its main customer.”

The Kaluga Region Development Corporation reported that Deputy Governor Potyomkin attached great importance to the event as the newly opened textile mill was the first foreign small business in the Kaluga Region and in addition was also a world-famous high-tech brand.

“French Porcher Industries’ principle business is the production of technical textile, i.e. high quality industrial fabrics for aviation and industrial applications. Its products are widely used in construction and automotive industries.  The new plant is to manufacture carbon cloth of various properties. Later on as the demand grows it will also produce other types of fabrics. In Russia Porcher Industries operates through its subsidiary, Porcher Modern Materials OOO,” the government organisation said.

From its initial trade of silk weaving, the Porcher Industries Group has consistently anticipated advances in technology and industry, allowing it to maintain a leadership position over the years. A pioneer of textile technology in the 1950’s, and dedicated to international development from the 1980’s onward, Porcher has steadily invested to stay ahead of market needs and client expectations.

Kaluga is a city in the administrative centre of Kaluga Oblast, and is located on the Oka River, 150 kilometres southwest of Moscow with a population of around 320,000.