At least six Japanese Okuma machines delivered to Russia were blocked. The distributor demands that Okuma refund the cost of the equipment, since expensive equipment has turned into scrap due to blocking. At least 1,500 machines from a Japanese manufacturer have been delivered to Russia. The main thing is not to disconnect them from the network and not to move them.
After the ban
As Mashnews has learned, in the near future the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry will begin considering the claim of Pumori-engineering Invest, the exclusive distributor of Okuma machines, against the German company Okuma Europe GmbH, a supplier of Japanese machines.
Six machines that were blocked were supplied to Russia in 2011-2017, the average price of one piece of equipment is 250 thousand euros.
The machines have a special feature — when the power is turned off or moved, protection is triggered. You can remove the lock by entering a special code received from the manufacturer. The code is different every time. And machines at enterprises are periodically moved, for example, during repairs. In June 2024, six machines shut down, Okuma Europe GmbH refused to provide codes.
After an inconclusive correspondence, Pumori-Engineering Invest filed a lawsuit against Okuma Europe GmbH. The International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry does not publish case materials, however, Pumori-Engineering Invest is simultaneously suing Okuma Europe GmbH in the Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk Region. It follows from the documents released by the court that Pumori-engineering Invest estimates the six blocked machines at 1.4 million euros. It is for this amount that a lawsuit has been filed against Okuma Europe GmbH.
Very parallel import
Japan imposed sanctions against Russia back in 2014, banning the export of dual-use goods. Nevertheless, Okuma products were imported into Russia. Pumori Engineering Invest acquired machines from Okuma Europe GmbH. Moreover, in 2016, a joint production of Okuma-Pumori machines was launched in Yekaterinburg.
The Russian distributor bought Japanese machines and installed them at enterprises. In total, Pumori-Engineering Invest has supplied about 1,500 machines to domestic plants.
Among the company's regular customers are Tulamashzavod, Perm Plant Mashinostroitel, Motovilikhinsky Plants, Rostec structures, United Shipbuilding Corporation, United Engine Corporation, United Aircraft Corporation. Many of the companies to which Pumori-Engineering Invest supplies equipment, fulfill orders, including for the needs of the defense industry.
After the start of the CBO in 2022, Japan expanded the sanctions restrictions, compressors, looms, measuring machines fell under them, and in early 2024 a ban on the export of CNC machines was introduced.
The tightening of sanctions coincided with the termination of the issuance of passwords to Pumori-engineering Invest.
Everything is at risk
The expert noted that the outages may be related not only to sanctions restrictions, but also to commercial disputes between the seller and the buyer.
"Contracts for the supply of equipment, as a rule, prescribe strict conditions for copyright control: any movement of equipment at the enterprise requires the approval of the manufacturer, and location changes are recorded by GPS tags. In case of violation of the contract, the manufacturer can block the machines via the Internet," Alexander Silakov explained and stressed that Japan has an export control system that does not allow reactivating the machine control system when the owner changes.
What should factories do?
While Pumori-Engineering Invest is suing the German supplier Okuma, the factories where the blocked machines are located have found themselves in a difficult situation. Expensive equipment is idle, orders were formed long before the lockdown, when no one could have imagined that the machines would be blocked.
The fact that the German company refused to cooperate, according to Kirill Nikitin, gives Pumori-engineering Invest the right to declare force majeure. "However, the relevant fact must be established by the court. As the analysis of judicial practice shows, Russian courts do not perceive actions caused by sanctions motives as a force majeure circumstance that releases the supplier from liability," the expert explained.
At least one dissatisfied company already exists. As follows from the data of the Arbitration file, the Remdiesel company filed a lawsuit against Pumori-engineering Invest. The company demands to eliminate the shortcomings of the equipment. The next meeting in the Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk region is scheduled for January 17.
In addition, according to the expert, if the plant has suffered losses due to equipment downtime, in theory it can try to recover them from the supplier.
An expert in the field of judicial arbitration practice, lawyer Harutyun Sargsyan noted that in such proceedings the distributor's chances of success are high, the main reason is the same - Russian courts do not recognize the sanctions referred to by Western firms.
The lawyer also said that, in theory, the affected enterprises could address claims for blocking directly to Okuma structures, especially since it was their inaction that led to the current situation, but it is highly likely that enterprises will still contact the supplier to resolve the current situation.
"Usually, customers choose suppliers, because they have assets and enterprises in the territory of the Russian Federation, and a lawsuit against the plant is either unpromising, or a court decision on it will be unenforceable on the territory of a foreign state," Sargsyan explained.
Kirill Nikitin and Harutyun Sargsyan highly appreciated the likelihood that Pumori-Engineering Invest will be able to win a dispute with Okuma Europe GmbH in the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the CCI of the Russian Federation, but expressed doubt that this decision will be enforced in Germany. This means that while the sanctions have not been lifted, the distributor will have to deal with the problems of its customers on its own.
Okuma Europe GmbH did not comment on the circumstances of the case to Mashnews, citing the confidentiality of the proceedings.
MASHNEWS HELP
- The company "Pumori-engineering Invest" was founded in 2002 in Yekaterinburg, the main activity is the trade of machine tools. The company's revenue by the end of 2023 amounted to 2.3 billion rubles, net profit — 10 million rubles.
- Okuma is one of the leading machine tool companies in the world, founded in 1898 in Japan, initially engaged in the manufacture of lathes for udon noodle sticks. Okuma now manufactures CNC machines, machining centers, and CNC controls.
