Saratoga News

The Russians are coming to learn about construction

Group is hosted by the Saratoga Rotary

A mini-Marshall Plan

By Carolyn Leal

Ten construction firm owners and managers will journey from Russia to Saratoga this month to learn all they can about the U.S. construction business.

The visit is sponsored by the Center for Citizen Initiatives in San Francisco and the Saratoga Rotary Club. The Russians will stay in Saratoga homes from June 5 through July 2 and will visit construction firms in the Saratoga area to learn the latest in construction techniques.

The purpose of the visit is to help boost Russian productivity, explained Natalie Bosworth, program manager at the Center for Citizen Initiatives. "We want them to produce for their own people, with good quality products."

The program copies the Marshall Plan by bringing non-English-speaking managers and owners here to visit American firms to view such things as production techniques, plant design, business development and modern equipment.

"We bring 10 to 15 people from the same industry to the U.S. for one month," Bosworth said. "They go day-to-day to different manufacturing sites to see marketing, sales organization and manufacturing. And at the end of each day, they spend an hour brainstorming about what they saw and how they can apply it to their industry in Russia or the Ukraine."The Saratoga Rotary Club has arranged for housing, transportation and visits to local construction firms and building- supply stores.

There will also be a two-day visit to the Pacific Coast Builders Conference Trade Show June 18-19 at Moscone Center in San Francisco and a break to attend an Oakland A's game on June 14.

The Russian visitors are:

Larissa Arsenian of St. Petersburg, director of Petrarco Company, a construction firm that employs 21 people and specializes in construction of wooden buildings and residences;

Iouri Chamenko of St. Petersburg, director and chief architect of the So-Pir Architecture Design Construction Center in St. Petersburg. The company employs 12 people and specializes in construction design and architecture;

Andrei Gorbounov of Ekaterinburg, director of Style Design Ltd., a 100-person construction firm that constructs private homes and commercial buildings for state and private firms;

Alexei Koukovyakin of Ekaterinburg, director and owner of Alkuta, a 15-person firm. The company is engaged in the construction of wooden houses, using American technology;

Vladimir Ochevnev of Voronezh, director of Centrstroi Ltd., which employs 30 people and specializes in the construction of private cottages, hospitals and schools;

Victor Ossipov of Ekaterinburg, director of Promzona, a 30-person construction firm that specializes in the construction of houses and dachas (summer homes) for individuals, the renovation of old buildings and road repair;

Youri Oussenko of Voronezh, director and one of three founders of Centr Ltd. Co., which employs 11 and specializes in the construction of garages, cottages and the trade of metal construction materials;

Oleg Soubaev of Ekaterinburg, general director of Inter-Ross, a 10-person construction firm that constructs cottages and garages, renovates buildings and sells construction materials;

Viatcheslav Sytenkov of Dubna, director of the SMU #1 Company, which employs 45 people and constructs private homes and commercial buildings, repairs and remodels workspaces and office buildings; and

Valentina Voronova, director of Kantri Ltd. in Rostov. The firm employs 25 people and specializes in the construction and major repair of administrative and commercial buildings as well as private homes.

For more information about the Russian visit, contact Mel Tuscher at 253-8744.

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