Ivan Polyakov, Omsk Manufacturing Association named after A.S. Popov - Радиозавод им. А.С. Попова
Release Date: 2010-08-27
Ivan Polyakov, General Director of Popov Radioplant, was interviewed by Russianavia.net to talk about the history of his company in the context of the current technological advancements made by the Russian military and industrial complex and its future prospects in terms of branding and developing the technological infrastructure.It would be interesting to get a glimpse into the history of Popov Radioplant that dates back to the Soviet times. When you joined the company 8 years ago, what made you believe it had such good prospects and what you have done in the past two years to transform the company into what it is today?
Popov Radioplant was formed in 1948 and has been working successfully for over 50 years. In the Soviet times, it was exclusively specialized in the production of communication equipment for military purposes; today we see our main activity as creation of high quality and hi-tech telecommunication products for defense, security and infrastructure both for Russia and other countries. Our solutions are applied in more than 30 countries. There’s no doubt that we’re the leaders in developing and manufacturing telecommunication equipment in Russia and the CIS, so our main ambition is to become one of the world leader companies in this area and to expand on the world market.
One of the most noticeable things over the past 15 years is the complete change of how armies conceive their telecommunications. The Russian army has not invested so much in the past 15 years while in other countries the technologically-driven companies that supply to the army are heavily funded by the government. How can you compete with such companies and have you managed to keep up with today’s technologies?
We’re familiar with the situation concerning the current development and supplies of modern telecommunication equipment in the leading armies. Moreover, the Russian government, Russian Technologies State Corporation and Rosoboronexport are intensifying the relations with French, Italian, Israeli and U.S. companies such as Thales, SAGEM and Finmeccanica.
Hopefully, there will be healthy competition because it stimulates progress and improvement. An example of our activity is the start of supplies of a 5th generation military telecommunication complex that has been developed and manufactured at Popov Radioplant. Its noise immunity and energy characteristics are equal and for some parameters outdo those for the equipment applied internationally. The supplies are starting in 2010.
Another good example is our cooperation with Finmeccanica for a joint product that will link different military infrastructures in case of joint operations because currently telecommunication between, for instance, the Russian, the French and the Italian army is restricted. We have agreed with our Italian partners, with the support of Rosoboronexport, to create a system to enable such communications for joint military or antiterrorist operations.
You have mentioned your interest to expand your markets. How is your revenue coming from Russia compared to the revenue coming from other parts of the world?
During the last years, we were mainly focusing on creating modern products for the Russian army. The newest developments have not been presented on the world market yet; at least, not before these products fully satisfy the demand on the Russian market.
Russia is engaging in modernization of its forces. How big of an opportunity does network centric warfare present for your company?
Of course, we do take into account the changing approaches to waging war. But the Russian government’s main focus is safety issues and, besides, our solutions permit to solve military tasks using the most modern technologies.
Expansion of our opportunities is directly related with the modernization plans of the Russian government. Our enterprise attributes a lot of attention to scientific development and analysis of the available technologies which probably gives us a competitive edge and we will be very much involved in this process.
One of the classic ways of making money is to find civil applications for military products. You’re present at most of the aviation fairs, so what part of your product range is applied in aviation?
Aviation is one of the segments where we work. It is important to mention that our sector is limited to telecommunication systems related to super-endurance that can operate in any conditions. Talking about cooperation in other areas, we cooperate with the largest infrastructure companies in Russia in various industries: power, pipelines, railways... These companies have created a very developed infrastructure in Russia in the corresponding areas and they are our partners for telecommunications and other kinds of products in Russia.
Besides, one of our planned non-defense activities is record-keeping systems for energy resources including minimization of energy losses and implementation of systems that increase energy efficiency. In terms of figures, we estimate that the market for such systems in the mid-term will reach 5 bln USD - for Russia only. Our annual increase of sales volume in this market segment is about 50-70%.
Talking about branding, what will it take to make Popov Radioplant a strong brand?
If I can make an example, the company was running the risk of bankruptcy at the time when I headed it. Historically, the most famous foreign company in radio equipment in Russia was Marconi. In some years, we managed to change the situation and become one of the leaders in telecommunications in Russia. Strangely, Marconi ceased to exist after that.
Today we’re launching a few new brands – for instance, HPIP, an umbrella brand that we plan to launch to develop a new communication standard.
HPIP will be oriented on mass consumption market. Its main advantage is its health friendliness. As our research shows, the negative impact of mobile communication devices is comparable with that of sticking your head in a microwave oven. So, we have decided that, from the next year on, all our products and solutions should comply with “green” principles.
If you approach a mobile systems manufacturer tomorrow, will they have to change the technology?
We expect that, in general, this might require developing a new infrastructure. We’re still underway but we have general understanding of the situation, and the prospects of developing this standard are very good.
Most importantly, our assessment shows that attention to ecology and health impact in the world will increase. Talking about its reflection on the price, I think you would prefer paying 1 cent more to avoid the risk of getting brain cancer.
What would be your final message to our readers both in aviation and energy sector?
I would like to remind everybody that we, as representatives of the military and industrial complex, work to ensure peace, and not war, in the whole world, and to provide a balance of power, well-being and normal development. I hope that all my colleagues from the military and industrial complex are proud of it and that all the others remember this.
| Company: | Omsk Manufacturing Association named after A.S. Popov - Радиозавод им. А.С. Попова |
| Position: | General Director |
| Country: | Russian Federation |