KYIV. March 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – K.Fund of businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky has opened a representative office of Lean Global Network – Lean Institute Ukraine (LIU) – in Ukraine, the fund said in a Monday press release.
According to the report, the Institute’s activity will be focused on promoting the knowledge of lean approach as one of the cutting edge methodologies that improve enterprises’ performance and optimize resources consumption.
“We believe that deeper understanding and use of lean thinking is a vital, effective strategy to help Ukrainian companies to go through serious transformation, to raise their competitiveness on local and international markets, and contribute into social and economic development of the country,” President and initiator of the project Serhiy Konberianov said.
Konberianov has large experience in the field as an independent lean consultant in Ukraine in the past five years.
Lean philosophy is derived mostly from the Toyota company, which grew to the world’s largest automaker with the help of lean manufacturing. The lean approach to work means that all the workers are engaged in daily continuous improvement of the operating processes, identifying and eliminating waste.
“This approach turns problems into opportunities for development, helps workers to grow, and aids the organization’s leadership in its market,” the fund said.
Lean Institute Ukraine will help spreading lean thinking and practice in Ukraine through publishing books, organizing summits, leading trainings and workshops. You can find the announcements of its events and books at lean.org.ua, as well as on the K.Fund site and on social networks.
LIU is a member of Lean Global Network, which comprises 21 educational and research organizations and dozens of co-learning partners around the globe.
K.Fund was founded by Ukrainian entrepreneur Vasyl Khmelnytsky in 2015 to support education and economics projects.
KYIV. March 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE), the League of Insurance Organizations of Ukraine (LIOU), the Association of Employers’ Organizations of Ukraine, the National Academy of Medical Sciences and the Ukrainian NGO Federation for Public Health Promotion have signed a memorandum of cooperation.
According to the report, it is planned that the document signed on March 10, 2017 will become a platform for the creation of the National Health Strategy, defining its principles and basic components in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, WHO recommendations, the scientifically based experience of the leading international practices.
The signatories agreed on the joint search for ways to solve the urgent needs of the health care system in an integrated manner, form new effective mechanisms for its management, and proposed their cooperation be viewed as an instrument for implementing a consistent state policy for the formation of an effective healthcare system.
In the opinion of experts participating in the meeting, among the priorities of the National Health Strategy, in particular, are the introduction of a social insurance model with a multi-channel financing system in the conditions of budget deficit and low population solvency.
KYIV. March 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The government of Kenya has decided to purchase 450,000 tonnes of corn in March-May 2017.
The Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food has received the corresponding letter from the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine.
According to the agricultural ministry, companies interested in corn supplies to Kenya may inform the ministry with a view to further sending the lists received to the Ukrainian Embassy in Kenya. Then the information will be sent to Kenya in the form of consolidated commercial offers from Ukrainian enterprises.
As reported, Ukraine since the beginning of the 2016/2017 marketing year and as of March 7, 2017 had exported 29.91 million tonnes of grain. In particular, the country exported about 13.69 million tonnes of wheat, 4.67 million tonnes of barley and 11.37 million tonnes of corn.
KYIV. March 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The founder and head of Tesla, billionaire Elon Musk, is ready to build electricity storage systems in Ukraine at a price of $250 per kW, he said during the discussion of such an idea on Twitter.
“Sure [we can build energy storage systems in Ukraine]. Just check out my prior tweet on pricing ($250/kWh at pack level),” he wrote on his Twitter page, asked whether something similar could be done in Ukraine.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman, in turn, thanked the businessman and expressed his readiness for cooperation.
“Thanks. An interesting idea. Ukraine is eager to become a test site for innovation. Let’s talk it over in detail,” the premier wrote on Twitter.
As reported, at present Ukraine uses exclusively pumped storage power plants for electricity accumulation. The issue of expansion of accumulating capacities is acute for the country’s energy system: its solution is important for cutting the share of thermal power plants operating on scarce coal grades, as well as reducing emissions from the plants.
KYIV. March 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Verkhovna Rada has ratified the free trade area agreement (FTA) between Ukraine and Canada (No. 0120).
Some 272 people’s deputies voted for this decision on March 14.
Verkhovna Rada Speaker Andriy Parubiy after voting said he would urgently sign the document.
The agreement was signed in Kyiv on July 11, 2016.
According to an explanatory note to the document, the ratification of the agreement will promote the development of bilateral trade and economic relations between Ukraine and Canada, will allow Ukrainian producers to benefit from customs-free access to the Canadian market, will open new markets for Ukrainian enterprises.
ODESA. March 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – M.V.Cargo has started building berth 25 for the grain terminal of Cargill at the Yuzhny maritime merchandise port (Odesa region).
The corporate relations service of TIS LLC, the co-owner of which founded M.V.Cargo for the implementation of the Cargill project, the length of the new berth will be 385 meters and depth – 16 meters.
“M.V.Cargo has carried out dredging works to create a construction pit for a hydraulic engineering unit of the berth in the amount of 620,000 cubic meters of soil. 100,000 cubic meters more is to be dug,” the company said.
The berth will be able to service vessels of the Postpanamax type to load them with grain.
According to the plan, construction of the berth will be finished during one year. During construction and further operation of the terminal over 500 jobs will be created.
“The terminal is to start operating in spring 2018. These are our commitments to the investor and creditors. This term is also linked to the start of the grain season. M.V.Cargo meets the schedule by 100%,” the corporate relations service said, citing M.V.Cargo Development Director Filip Hrushko.
However, TIS is alarmed with the postponement of a tender for dredging works at the Yuzhny port for March 2017. The start of the operation of the terminal depends on this.
“M.V.Cargo hopes that the tender will be transparent and it will be held in the due time, as more delays would not be accepted by investors… We hope that the top priority for foreign investment in the Ukrainian economic is obvious for all sides of the process, first, the government. We hope that the approval of the documents would be completed in the near future,” the corporate relations service said.
