Vladislav Tetukhin

Born November 29, 1932 in Moscow.

He graduated from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys with a degree in metallurgical engineering in 1956. After graduation, he was assigned to the Verkhnesaldinsky metalworking plant in Verkhnyaya Salda (Sverdlovsk Region), where he began to establish one of the world's first titanium industries. At this plant, Vladislav Tetyukhin went through almost all the steps of the career ladder, having traveled in 19 years from master to deputy chief metallurgist for titanium production.

In 1965 he became a candidate of technical sciences, and 10 years later, in 1975, a doctor of technical sciences.

In 1976, due to his father's illness, he returned to Moscow, where he worked as the head of the laboratory sector of the All-Russian Research Institute of Aviation Materials of Moscow (VIAM), in 1980 he became the head of the research department. He was responsible for the reliability of titanium alloys in aviation, rocket science and space technology.

At that time, titanium production was secret and getting the necessary equipment was a big problem, but Tetyukhin found a way out of this situation - two furnaces were installed at the plant, one was brought from VIAM, the other was designed themselves and began to carry out experimental work on melting titanium.

In the second half of the 1980s, there was a sharp decline in the aviation and space industries, from which not only production, but also scientific organizations suffered a lot. Funding for research institutes has significantly decreased, and factories are on the verge of bankruptcy.

In the early 1990s, he was again invited to Upper Salda to rebuild the plant. In 1992, he became a director and shareholder of the plant where he began his career [1]. Being the director of the plant, Tetyukhin lived with his wife in a modest apartment.

Despite the difficult state of the domestic economy, Tetyukhin was not at a loss and began to look for new markets for titanium, he traveled almost all aviation companies in the United States, was even at NASA.

Ultimately, he still managed to find partners and establish the plant. We started with the supply of titanium ingots for stamping companies, then gradually switched to individual orders for Boeing and Airbus.

The plant was a completely independent joint stock company, so there was no need to count on state help. Everything depended on initiative and skill. He managed to keep the personnel almost completely.

By 2002, the plant became the leader in titanium production in the world. The bulk of titanium (more than 75%) was exported to the global aviation industry, the rest was used in Russia in the defense, chemical and energy industries. In addition, titanium from Russia is supplied to Europe and the United States for the production of elements for medicine.

In 1998, the association acquired the Bereznikovsky Titanium-Magnesium Plant, which was owned by Mikhail Khodorkovsky. This marked the beginning of the VSMPO-Avisma corporation, combining a full production cycle, including the production of titanium sponge (rough titanium). By the mid-1990s, the company produced a third of the world's titanium volumes, selling 70% for export. In 2007, the corporation's share in the world titanium market was 28%, and the president of the corporation, V.V. Tetyukhin, was included in the list of domestic millionaires. According to Forbes magazine, as of 2012, his fortune was about $650 million.

Since 2003, the shares of VSMPO-Avisma began to buy the structures of Viktor Vekselberg. In 2005, Vekselberg tried to force Tetyukhin and his partner Vyacheslav Bresht to sell him their stakes in the company. The shareholder conflict led to litigation and a crisis in the company. In 2006, Rosoboronexport acquired controversial packages of the holding.

2008 Tetyukhin took over as president of the corporation, and in 2009 he retired and went into the business of his sons in the production of titanium medical instruments and implants.

Vladislav Tetyukhin stood at the origins of the project of the special economic zone "Titanium Valley." While still the general director of VSMPO-AVISMA, he managed to convince the regional authorities to place the SEZ in Verkhnyaya Salda. Developing relations with aircraft giants, he wanted the first Russian factories Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Figeac Aero to start working next to VSMPO.

He died after a long illness on April 11, 2019. He was buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery in Moscow.