Vasily Ivanovich Kem

Grade 3 malt crusher

Our work is a great responsibility! We work with the grain. Itkul is the only enterprise in Altai to produce natural malt spirits. The entire cycle takes around ten days.

We work with the barley and the hops. We soak the grain, wash it, let it germinate, and keep it at the right temperature by warming or chilling it. Then, we water it, turn it, and process it. Next, we crush the grain and use it to make malted milk. This becomes the base for our unique Altai spirit and other beverages.

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Galina thinks that she has been very lucky with her colleagues and teachers. When she arrived at Itkul, her more senior colleagues generously shared their experience with her, and today, Galina is only too happy to share her knowledge with her juniors.

Grade 5 spirit distillation and purification specialist

I arrived at Itkul in 1997 and started out as a grade 3 miller; however, this position no longer exists, so now I work in spirit production. We distil the wash which is prepared by the fermentation section and create the end product – purified spirit. In the late 1990s, Itkul switched to using automated distillation and purification processes, whereas before then we did everything by hand and even calculated the proportions of the product on an abacus. Just imagine how interesting it was to watch these changes!

I’m proud that Itkul spirit is considered the best in Altai and Siberia as a whole, confirmed by the many competitions it has won, and more importantly, by our customers.

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Natalia was born in Sokolovo and her whole life has revolved around Itkul. Today, she works with responsible and disciplined professionals – qualities which Natalia considers to be vital for working at the distillery.

Carbon dioxide specialist and grade 4 balloon filler

My family – the Bobkovs – are a true dynasty, which began in 1952, when my mother, Valentina Gavrilovna Bobkova, joined the distillery. For over 20 years, she worked honestly and conscientiously as a fermentation process specialist. She also had two sons who also came to work at Itkul.

I joined the spirit distillery in 1987 and worked in the carbon dioxide department, where I remain to this day. There are five of us in the department and it’s a collective of true professionals. My wife works in a kindergarten in Sokolovo and my children and grandchildren live in the town, too. My older brother, Vladimir Vasilyevich has also worked in Itkul’s carbon dioxide department for more than ten years.

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In total, the Bobkov dynasty have devoted over 100 working years to Itkul.

Head of the control and instrumentation department

Since school, I have been fascinated by radio electronics and have even repaired a number of radio sets. I was asked to work at Itkul as the work in the control and instrumentation department involved configuring and carrying out maintenance work on the equipment, which came naturally to me. I went from apprentice to head of department, thanks to my incredible mentors who shared their knowledge with me – we make a fantastic team.

Our department has built and set up the automated technological processes for recycling the wash from the spirits, and we also worked on automating the carbon dioxide department. At that time there were five of us; all highly skilled specialists. We exchanged our knowledge and experience and felt that we were a team of likeminded professionals.

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“That factory entrance which made me who I am”. Pavel’s entire career has revolved around the distillery, and Itkul has helped him meet interesting people and gain invaluable experience.

Head of sales

“Just make it through December”. I started out working as a sales assistant in the shop, and then became a stock manager – responsible for getting the goods to the shop. I was transferred to Itkul’s sales department on 1 December, just in time for the pre-New Year rush. I was told that if I could work all through December, I would be a real pro. At first it was tough with all the calls, clients, the unbelievable workload, and the endless tasks. But, by January, I could do pretty much everything.

I love my job. It’s both interesting and diverse. I sometimes feel like the task I’m working on is impossible, but after a year or two, it turns out that we could do more than was expected in the plan.

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Irina believes that a talented manager is someone who can not only relate to people and find a common tongue with clients, but also quickly and accurately calculate the cost components of a project. Itkul’s sales department is full of professionals who are always ready to help out and provide support.

Wash recycling section technician and machine operator

When I was taken on as a mechanic at Itkul, construction had just begun on a post-spirit wash recycling section. At the time, we were setting up the equipment and preparing the section for launch. Specialists from around the world were coming to help and provide consultations, and to share their experience. We even had people coming from China!

In my little team, we had very proactive people. Each of them wants to improve something, help out their colleagues, or learn something new. The ones who started as loaders a few years ago are now working as technologists, and we have great atmosphere of teamwork in our brigade. My colleagues and I speak and see each other quite often outside of work; for example, we play futsal in the Biysk league and we’re fairly high up in our gategory.

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This year, the wash recycling section celebrates its 10-year anniversary. Sergei thinks that the most important thing at the distillery is safety. Every member of his brigade brings an invaluable contribution to the job as a whole, which is why the team is so friendly and productive.