The global leader in welding equipment and materials manufacturing remains committed to Russia, maintaining factories and supplying its products through the Russian state procurement system to Gazprom. The National Agency for Prevention of Corruption has included the American-Swedish industrial company Elektriska Svetsnings-Aktiebolaget (ESAB) in the list of international sponsors of the war.
The company has been operating in Russia for over 20 years, creating more than 6,000 jobs. ESAB has over 150 distributors in all federal districts of Russia, along with 2 factories and a technological center for technology development, training, and equipment demonstration.
As part of the Russian import substitution program, these plants produce Russian and ESAB-branded welding materials, as well as electrodes, wires, and fluxes. This assistance contributes to Russia dealing with the consequences of imposed sanctions and ensures technological capabilities for the country.
In June 2022, the company officially announced the continuation of its operations in Russia, stating its clear intention to continue working in the Russian market. According to Alexey Nuzhny, the CEO of ESAB Russia and the CIS, the company is committed to continuing its work in Russia. Alexey Belikov, the director of the Welding Materials department at ESAB, emphasized the need to increase production and expand the local assortment of products produced in Russia.
In 2023, the company continued to present and announce new high-tech welding equipment of its own production in Russia.
ESAB operates in Russia through LLC "ESAB." However, the company has not published its financial report for its activities in Russia for the year 2022. Instead, from February 24, 2022, to October 2023, the company imported goods worth over $60 million into Russia. These goods included materials, equipment, spare parts, and welding tools from Germany, China, Hungary, South Korea, Vietnam, Sweden, Austria, India, and Turkey.
In the Russian domestic market in 2023, ESAB's products under the "ESAB" brand continue to be supplied through the state procurement system. Consumers of ESAB's products include enterprises in the fuel and energy complex of Russia, such as LLC "Gazprom Methanol," LLC "Gazprom Transgaz Grozny," and others.
ESAB continues to actively support technological capabilities, the economy of Russia, and sponsor the war against Ukraine. The company's leadership has not made any attempts to condemn Russia's war against Ukraine.
