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Mongolia - Erdmin leads the way in manufacturing copper products

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Erdmin Company was established in 1997, and since then the company has been processing the ore waste of Erdenet Factory to produce pure copper cathode for the manufacturing of copper wire and other products used by domestic construction companies.

Starting in 2012, the company began manufacturing over 50 products including copper foundry, copper wire, power cables, copper electrical wiring, and extension cables meeting industry standards.

They sell their products domestically at low prices in Orkhon Province and Ulaanbaatar. Member of Parliament and Former Director of Erdenet Factory Sh.Otgonbileg founded the company. The company has two factories and over 100 employees. One factory extracts copper from ore waste, while the other manufactures final products.

The company purchases power strips from China. Engineers of Erdmin said, “We can produce power strips, but we will need financing for purchasing necessary equipment. However this is incorrect, when one company does everything, because other companies won’t develop. As we have learned from foreign countries, one company produces wire, one plugs, the other forks, and another company is responsible for installation and supply.”

General Director of Erdmin J.Baatar said, “This sector is not yet developed in Mongolia, so we have faced many challenges. We understand that if we don’t do this, no one will. Fifty eight percent of our stake is owned by an American company called MSR, but we started copper production without their permission.”

Unuudur spoke with General Director of Erdmin J.Baatar regarding the company’s activities.

Is there any other company that manufactures copper products in Mongolia?
No there isn’t. If anyone is interested in manufacturing consumer products with copper, we can freely sell our copper cathode. There isn’t any company that manufactures copper products, so we export. We can fully supply Mongolia’s market with various wires. Construction companies prefer buying our products, because the quality is good and the price is cheap. But state-owned companies don’t purchase from us. Erdenet Factory owns 25 percent of our stake.

Is it possible to sell products abroad?

Every country besides Mongolia takes import tax from processed products, so their domestic products become cheaper than imported ones.

How much profit do you make from one extension cable?
Our major profit is from copper cathode sales. We don’t profit from extension cables or electric wires, because we use only 10 percent of our capacity. If we could use at least 30 percent of our capacity we could work efficiently.

How about sales?
They are poor. We have a sales point at Atlas Center in 100 ail. Our products are not consumer goods, so opening many counters is unnecessary. Our factory has the capacity to produce 2,000 tons of copper cathodes per year and we produce extension cables with lengths of three, five, eight and ten meters.

How many organizations do you cooperate with?
We don’t have a contractor company, but most of UB’s construction companies purchase wire from us. But the construction sector has recently collapsed, so sales are poor.

What are your future goals?

We are planning many things, but without governmental support it’s difficult. If you can sell, you can do anything you want. People come to us and say, “We have money, let’s cooperate. What should we do?”, and I reply, “What can you sell? Study it, and we will produce it.” Mongolia is a buyer country, not a producer. State owned companies should purchase domestic products, and the government should regulate this issue through policy, as well as increase the  import tax of similar products, to protect the market.

Source: ubpost.mongolnews.mn

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