Marten Group considers possible project development in Penza region
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Penza, 25 April 2016. PenzaNews. The development of a frozen butter and cheese factory in Saltykovo village and construction of a wood pellet factory at the Pashkovo village forest combine became the main topics of the meeting between the Penza region governor Ivan Belozertsev and representatives of Marten Group industrial development foundation held on Monday, April 25.
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According to the foundation’s president Valery Kunitsyn, his organization considers potential cooperation with the region over the two aforementioned projects.
In turn, Alexei Mokrov, Marten Group’s investment project department head, explained that the foundation is interested in materials processing projects, rather than just agriculture.
“We try to act as a catalyst in projects. That is, we consider providing on-the-spot finances to involve a field-related strategist later on – when the production starts – to manage the enterprise, either through buyout or in a consortium, because we are not professionals in eggs, milk or cheese,” he said.
As Alexei Mokrov stressed, Marten Group does not consider itself to be a “startup fund.”
“It is crucial for us that the project has interesting assets that can be relatively easily launched towards good levels; the people that can make it done; and it is vital to have support of regional authorities in the regions where we are present,” he pointed out.
As foundation representatives explained, the plans for the butter and cheese factory involve first resuming production without modernization, then conduct a two-stage upgrade of the facilities, while pellet production is not a priority and is considered complimentary to the first project.
The regional authorities are interested in cooperation with the investors, Ivan Belozertsev stressed.
“We will be negotiating any issues on the fly. There will be no pressure on the business, no vague areas. This is entirely out of the question. I am aiming for that myself, and work to aim the government and heads of municipalities for the same,” he stressed.
