Within the official program of the working visit of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to the Austrian Republic a memorandum of cooperation in development of the North Caucasus tourism cluster was signed between Joint-Stock Company Northern Caucasus Resorts, Austrian LEITNER GmbH and French POMA S.A.S. The ceremony was held on June 5, within the extended meeting of the Russian-Austrian Business Council at the Austrian Economic Chamber, before the First Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for North Caucasus Affairs, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Joint-Stock Company Northern Caucasus Resorts Odes Baysultanov. The document was signed by the Director General of JSC NCR Khasan Timizhev, the Executive Director of LEITNER GmbH Lukas Emberger and Head of the Representative Office of POMA S.A.S. in Russia Anton Chudaev.

The objective of cooperation will be the introduction of modern and environment friendly technologies in all-season tourist-and-recreational complexes run by JSC NCR. In accordance with the memorandum, POMA S.A.S. and LEITNER GmbH, being members of one of the world's largest industrial holdings HTI, High Technology Investments, shall render assistance in the development of National Ropeways LLC — the first Russian-French joint venture to manufacture ropeways in the North Caucasus Federal District. LEITNER GmbH is expected to deliver modern components, including hi-tech electric direct drives Direct Drive, to assemble ropeways using this technology at the facilities of National Ropeways in Russia. In turn, POMA S.A.S. shall arrange transfer of technical solutions and drawings, supply the necessary equipment from France and provide advisory services in order for National Ropeways to accomplish its tasks.

The Russia's first ropeway with direct drive Direct Drive will be built in Arkhyz resort in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic; its commissioning is scheduled already for December 2018. Engine design of this ropeway is the maximum available for installation, it has minimal requirements for maintenance and extremely low operating costs due to the absence of need to replace oil. In addition, electric drive Direct Drive operates noiselessly and consumes less electricity than a traditional drive with gear. The combination of these technologies makes it possible to minimize the negative impact of the ski infrastructure facility on the environment and ecology of the region.

The Director General of JSC NCR Khasan Timizhev thanked the partners for their willingness to fully cooperate in the development of the joint venture. ‘National Ropeways will enter the Russian, and in the future — also the foreign market of ski equipment not as a newbie, but as a serious, professional and technological production manufacturing competitive, modern ropeways. This is only possible thanks to the openness to cooperation of our Austrian and French colleagues, POMA S.A.S. and LEITNER GmbH, which are ready to organize the transfer of technology, know-hows and its developments successfully implemented in thousands of ropeways around the world,’ he said.

‘More than 130 years of our experience prove that lifts made in accordance with the highest standards of quality, innovation and functionality, reliability and security, can be harmoniously integrated into the fragile natural environment of mountain regions such as the North Caucasus region or the Alps,’ Managing Director of LEITNER GmbH Lucas Emberger stressed, in turn. ‘We pay great attention to the development of the components of our environmentally-friendly ropeways, and are willing to share our solutions with our Russian colleagues,’ he said.

The participation of the Russian delegation in the working trip to Austria within development of cooperation on projects to be implemented in the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District, is overseen by the Ministry of the North Caucasus Affaires of the Russian Federation represented by the Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Chebotarev and the First Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for North Caucasus Affairs, Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC NCR Resorts Odes Baysultanov.