Notwithstanding the charged political atmosphere between the U.S. and Russia, American companies are eager to begin joint work with a Russia-based producer of geocells, which are cellular retention grids for road and railroad construction.

Prestorus, a geocell producer from Russia announced that it is expecting to enter the U.S. market later this year. Pavel Razbegaev, the company’s international project manager, made the announcement after the Geotechnical Frontiers event in Florida on March 17, 2017.

Mr. Razbegaev summarized that Prestorus held discussions with three potential partners from the U.S., and that the company’s reception in the U.S. was very much positive. In the words of the Russian executive, U.S. firms would like to license the manufacturing process for the material Prestorus produces or to receive a distributorship. In addition, U.S. companies expressed interest in undertaking some work within Russia.

Prestorus got started in Russia in 1998 as a distributor of a U.S.-based company called Presto Geosystems. It took the Russian company 20 years to come back to the American market with its own inventions. Even though the material was initially conceived of in the United States, the Russian company’s product represents a substantial improvement of the technology. These Russian innovations in design make the material’s production more cost-effective. Also, these changes reduce the time required for installing the product and simplify the transportation process. 

Mr. Razbegaev admitted that Prestorus was a company oriented towards exports and that it intended to facilitate its initial geocell shipments in 2017. While Prestorus recognizes that its entry onto the American market will require further work in certifying compliance with U.S. testing standards, the company is optimistic that it would deliver the first shipment to America already in 2017. The average sales price for a container of product with 129 thousand square feet of the material stands at USD50 thousand.

Prestorus has already patented its innovative designs. It currently has supply agreements with partners in Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam. In addition to the U.S., Prestorus is actively exploring the markets of Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and Slovakia.

The use of geocells is common in road construction, in erecting retention walls, as well as in slope systems. The confinement structures are often used to protect pipelines and generally in the oil and gas industry.