Viktor Lemeshevsky - "Person of the Year of Brest Region" in the field of industry

Pinsk native Viktor Lemeshevsky is known in professional circles far beyond Belarus. He initiated the creation of the 1AK-GROUP holding, today one of the largest manufacturers of batteries in the CIS.

Under his leadership, a team of professionals was formed that managed to create and develop a new industrial sector of the country literally from scratch. Without relying on the legacy of past years, without privatizing existing Soviet enterprises, the team independently formed production competencies unique to Belarus, investing in advanced technologies and innovative solutions.

Today, 1AK-GROUP enterprises are modern, highly automated production facilities equipped with robotic lines and capable of competing at the international level.

From the sky to the ground
In his youth, Viktor Lemeshevsky dreamed of the sky. But fate had a different path in store for the graduate of the aerospace department of the Moscow Aviation Institute. The era of change in the early 1990s forced him to «ground» his dreams and turn to the real sector of the economy. This is how his acquaintance with the battery business began, which over time turned into his life’s work.
— Back then, everyone was engaged in trade, — recalls Viktor Matveevich. — But I was always interested in production. It was difficult to understand why products manufactured abroad could not be manufactured here. Having established business contacts with the American company Exide Technologies, we gradually acquired the necessary knowledge, technologies and formed a team of like-minded people ready to build their own full-cycle factories.

The First Swallow
The first Belarusian battery plant, today known as Zubr Energy LLC, began operations in 1999 in partnership with Exide Corporation as an assembly plant. In just a few years, the enterprise became the leading one in the CIS. It supplies batteries to the assembly lines of global and domestic manufacturers, including MAZ, MTZ and Geely.

Since 2023, the enterprise has been actively introducing innovative technologies: automated lines for the production of AGM starter batteries and industrial batteries used in electric forklifts and special equipment are being launched. Products under the brands ZUBR, VOLAT PRIME, ENRUN, EUROSTART, MASTER BATTERIES are successfully gaining international recognition.

Invented — made
In 2010, a team of like-minded people from Pinsk made a strategic decision to create a fully autonomous, vertically integrated industrial holding of the new generation. They started with the Belinvesttorg-Splav plant in Beloozersk, which solved the most important environmental and raw material problem of recycling used batteries. The plant turned waste into valuable raw materials, providing a foundation for further development of the industry.

The next step was the creation of the high-tech enterprise Battery Alliance near Brest — one of the first full-cycle battery production facilities in Belarus, built within the framework of the State Program for Innovative Development. A high level of automation, robotic production lines and advanced technologies allowed this plant to become the flagship of the modern Belarusian battery industry.

«Our main principle is that we must do any business we undertake better than others,» emphasizes Viktor Lemeshevsky. «It is this approach that allows our enterprises to be unique in the market.»

Over three decades of 1AK-GROUP’s existence, a powerful high-tech production platform has been formed. Today, these are two modern factories for the production of batteries — Zubr Energy and Battery Alliance, two factories for the production of lead alloys — Belinvesttorg-Splav and Fregat, an enterprise for the production of plastic components «1 AK-Plastic», as well as a research and production center for lithium-ion batteries.

With a scientific approach
— The Li-ion direction in the 1AK-GROUP holding has been actively developing since 2021. During this period, our own research and production center was created, which became the basis for launching modern, high-tech production and implementing innovative solutions. One of the striking examples of this direction was our first traction battery for an electric vehicle. Having significant experience in the production of traction and stationary batteries, as well as energy storage systems based on Li-ion technologies, the 1AK-GROUP team successfully applied its competencies in a new direction for itself, — continues the interlocutor. In addition, the holding acted as an industrial partner of the United Institute of Mechanical Engineering (UIME) of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, having carried out the practical implementation of an innovative development, on which the Academy of Sciences had been working for several years — a traction battery for a domestic electric vehicle. Through joint efforts with UIM, the necessary modifications to the technical documentation were made, the first experimental sample of a traction battery was developed and produced, and a pilot batch of traction LFP batteries for a domestic electric vehicle was released. This is a complex science-intensive product, manufactured in collaboration with domestic developers.

By competence and honor
In 2024, a scientific and technical competence center was created on the basis of the holding, uniting leading scientists and developers for the development of the knowledge-intensive energy storage industry in Belarus. 1AK-GROUP enterprises also contribute to the formation of the human resources potential of the industry. For several years, active work has been carried out with educational institutions on practice-oriented training of specialists, as well as their distribution to 1AK-GROUP enterprises. Among the partners are the Belarusian State Technological University, the Belarusian National Technical University, the Brest State Technical University, the Polesie State University and many others.

High production level, constant implementation of innovations and high automation of processes bring 1AK-GROUP well-deserved national recognition. The holding’s enterprises have repeatedly become winners and laureates of prestigious competitions — «Best Goods of the Republic of Belarus», «Best Resident of the Brest FEZ» and «Bisons of the Economy».

— Success comes to those who are ready to take full responsibility for people and decisions made, — Viktor Lemeshevsky is sure. — Once having opened the door to business, the 1AK-GROUP team realizes that there is no turning back, and confirms its choice every day: to create new-level enterprises, to do its job better than anyone else.

For significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the Brest region based on the results of 2024, the CEO of the 1AK-GROUP holding, the head of the management company Tech and Business Solutions Viktor Lemeshevsky was awarded the title of «Person of the Year of the Brest Region» in the field of industry.

Irina ORLOVA
Zarya Newspaper