Economic Aspects of Organizing High-technology Resource Saving Production in the Forest Sector of Russia

Abstract

Purpose: The article aims at assessing the possibility of organizing high-tech production in the Russian forest industry. Structure/Methodology/Approach: To switch to high-tech and resource-saving technologies in the production of sleepers, it is necessary to assess the influence of a few factors: the cost of production of innovative products, the demand for innovative products, the lifetime of innovative products. To assess the demand, we have used an expert survey. Results: The cost of producing railroad sleepers from modified wood has been established. The use of cheaper softwood wood as raw material (birch, aspen, alder, poplar, etc.) which makes it possible to reduce the cost of production of the sleepers is a competitive advantage of the innovative technology. Practical implications: It has been established that in the future we should expect an increase in demand for the sleepers made of modified wood, especially in the European part of Russia. Originality/Value. The main contribution of this study is the rationale for the transition to the concept of environmental savings in the Russian forest industry. The use of modified wood in the production of sleepers is economically viable and can be an alternative when diversifying production.