In business circles of Russia, Ruchev Aleksandr Valerievich is widely known, whose activities are associated with construction. He is one of the founders and president of the Morton group of companies, which is part of the five hundred largest domestic companies.
Young years of Rucheev
Ruchev Alexander Valerievich was born on December 30, 1973 in the city of Severodvinsk, in the Arkhangelsk region. He did not see his future in the province and after leaving school he immediately set off to conquer the capital. In 1991, he entered the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology at the Department of Aerophysics and Space Research, where he studied with pleasure. Today, the businessman says that at one time he managed to get a fundamental physical and technical education.
Why didn’t Alexander Ruchev take up space exploration? His biography is replete with events of a completely different plan: they are connected with the earth, and not with the sky.
According to Ruchev himself, until the fourth year he was not going to go into business, even though the yard was already in the nineties, and many comrades were “spinning” in commerce. Alexander thought that doing business in Russia was not for long, but the future was ahead of space exploration. And he dreamed of becoming an astronaut. He believed that the time would come when his profession at home would be in demand. But Alexander Valerievich Ruchev did not wait for her finest hour.
Morton, the first ten years
Toward the end of the institute, Ruchev Alexander realized that one must conquer his place under the sun in a new country in which everything has radically changed. His very first steps in entrepreneurial activity were the resale of consumer goods, which he bought in bulk or acquired by barter, and then sold in factories.
Many Ruchyov’s classmates earned money at construction sites at that time, and soon this area seemed to Alexander more attractive than trade. Together with six comrades in 1994, he created the small company Morton, which at first earned capital repairs of premises and buildings.
In 1998, Morton was lucky enough to receive an order for facade insulation, which the company carried out using its own unique technologies. The objects were houses in Mitino.
Young people did not stop there and continued to expand the scope of their activities. Soon their first construction contract “burnt out” - they had to finish building the building in Klin. And a little later they were lucky again - they turned up an order for the restoration of one of the old buildings on the Arbat. The successfully implemented project to recreate and complete the house-museum of Porokhovshchikov allowed the children to put together the start-up capital, which they invested in the further development of their business: the construction of residential buildings in the city of Schelkovo, pos. Bear Lakes, etc.
One of the largest projects of the company of that time was the development in 2004 of the huge May 1 residential complex on the Moscow Ring Road, which marked the beginning of a partnership between Morton and the construction giant DSK-1.
The main feature of the company was that the company “took into circulation” the Moscow Region, while others fought for plots in the center of Moscow. Thus, the wise Ruchev Aleksandr Valerievich Morton was saved from the competition and laid the foundation for the future high-profile success of his company.
Takeoff
By 2008, the brainchild of Alexander Ruchev could boast of revenues of four and a half billion rubles, and the total area of housing under construction exceeded a million square meters.
As you know, in 2008, the country experienced the largest financial crisis, which sank many successful Russian businessmen, including in the construction industry.
Alexander Valerievich Ruchev and his company Morton didn’t just stay afloat at that difficult time - they “skyrocketed”.
It was possible to survive then only with the support of the state, which became a lifesaver for Morton. In 2009, the company signed a "fat" contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense for the construction of housing for the military. It was that “leap” that ensured Ruchev’s prosperity today.
Patrons
Of course, such an explicit lobbying of the interests of the not-so-famous company in Moscow by the authorities was not left without public attention. From the mid-2004s to the present, periodically, materials appear in the media that Alexander Ruchev, President of Morton Group of Companies, has close ties with the region’s leadership, as well as with the top of the Russian law enforcement agencies, which he uses in the interests of his business.
In particular, the businessman is credited with patronage from the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, ex-Governor of the Moscow Region Boris Gromov, Minister of the Moscow Region Construction Complex Sergey Pakhomov, Vice-Governor of the Moscow Region Ildar Gabdrakhmanov and other officials.
Ruchev himself explains the success during the crisis by the simple success and high-quality long-term work of Morton in the territory of Balashikha, where it was planned to build housing for the military. That is, they simply chose the company that has already positively established itself in this area.
Morton today
The scope of today's activities of the company, once created by students at MIPT, is impressive. It unites such organizations as LLC Morton-RSO, LLC Morton-Invest and LLC Zhilstroyenergo-M.
Morton has billions of dollars in circulation; in the process of implementation - projects with a total area of more than seven and a half million square meters.
Alexander Valerievich Ruchev confidently occupied a niche that is considered the most difficult. This is the construction of economy class housing, where the cost of one square meter does not exceed seventy-five thousand rubles. The businessman explains the opportunity to build affordable housing by the fact that his company does not transfer important functions to intermediaries, but tries to do all the work, from creating projects to selling, using its own resources.
Priorities "Morton" gives state orders and is not listed among companies that deceive equity holders.
Projects of Morton Group of Companies
Today, the company's turnover exceeds one billion dollars. Completed projects:
- 17-storey building on Lechebnaya street, ow. 14, building 1;
- microdistrict in the center of Balashikha: 4 panel 17-story houses and three 15-story brick;
- “May 1” microdistrict in Balashikha: a house with a variable number of storeys (19-22) and a 24-story brick building;
- three 22-story brick towers in Balashikha;
- “Kuchino” microdistrict in the city of Zheleznodorozhny: six 17-storey panel houses;
- the settlement of Bear Lakes, the residential complex "Lake".
Now the company has many new proposals that will be developed in the near future:
- microdistrict "Ilyinskaya Sloboda" in the village of Ilyinsky;
- microdistricts in the Leninsky district of Moscow “Butovo Park” and “Butovo Park-2”;
- microdistrict "Solntsevo Park";
- several projects in New Moscow, etc.
In addition, Morton Group of Companies is erecting parking spaces near its buildings. The company also deals with business real estate: the so-called "headquarters" and multifunctional centers in Moscow and the region.
The company regularly increases its fleet and wants to create jobs in those areas where it is engaged in construction. Land for projects has always been acquired at market value or won in tenders.
The company has a corporate identity: Morton does not work in the far and middle suburbs. Only Moscow and the nearest territories are in the sphere of interests.
Forbes Rating
How do experts evaluate the activities of the company led by Ruchev Alexander Valerevich? Forbes in 2011 assigned Morton the 71st step in the ranking of Russia's largest non-public companies. A few years earlier, a little-known subject of the construction business then outstripped such giants as Inteko, Glavstroy and Donstroy.
In 2012, Morton held the 68th position in the same rating, in 2013 - 109th, in 2014 - 111th, and according to the results of 2015, the company is in 103rd place.
According to Forbes estimates, the revenue of the brainchild of Ruchev a few years ago amounted to 51 billion rubles; five and a half thousand people worked at the Morton facilities.
Customer ratings
As for customer ratings, their main complaint against Morton is that the company often delays the delivery of new buildings. Construction usually takes an average of one year. But in the end, the company still fulfills its obligations. Even during a deep crisis, Morton never “threw” its customers, so the developer can be classified as reliable.
Property Mutual Insurance Company
Since 2013, Alexander Valerievich Ruchev has been the head of the Mutual Developer Liability Society, established by the thirty largest Russian participants in the construction business from thirteen regions of the country. The main initiator of the creation of society was Morton. The organization's goal is to protect participants in shared construction, reduce risks and pay compensation to victims of unscrupulous developers.
Worldview of Alexander Ruchev
Ruchev Alexander Valerievich considers himself a deeply religious person, and Orthodoxy calls the basis of the Russian nation. Repeatedly in his speeches, he emphasized this point and promised to make the centers built by Morton Orthodox-oriented.
True, here are critics who charge Rucheva with a discrepancy between words and deeds. Examples are given when the inhabitants of a given microdistrict have been asking the company for decades to build at least a small church on its territory or to repair an existing one, but they are not heard.
Despite Ruchev’s conflicts with the general public, he still has great ambitions. And, being a believer, he believes that the country is in great need of new temples that need to continue to be built. He often speaks at the Russian National Council and created the White Cross Foundation. This charitable organization supports the Orthodox communities of the country.
Some time ago, Morton funded online media through the Russian Planet and Rustoria projects. At the same time, the company prefers to allocate funds for hi-tech projects: modern treatment facilities, transportation systems, house construction, etc.
Streams also supports several venture capital funds, which have recently allocated more than thirty million dollars to startups. The businessman himself considers himself a patriot and declares that he did not plan to leave Russia and will not.
Charity
Often, Alexander Valerievich is asked if he is engaged in charity work? The businessman answers in the affirmative, but does not disclose details, explaining this by the fact that good deeds should be performed quietly, away from the eyes of the public, otherwise “you can fall into heresy.”
However, notes often appear in the media that Alexander Ruchev, whose photo can be seen in this article, periodically donates funds to Moscow Orthodox churches and foundations. He does not comment on this.
Personal life
Alexander Ruchev, whose wife gave him two daughters, prefers not to particularly talk about his personal life either. Names, dates of important family events and other information of this kind are reliably hidden by the businessman from prying eyes. And in this, Rucheev can be understood: criticism of him is already enough. Therefore, it’s better not to let holy journalists into the holy place, because, as they say: “My house is my fortress ...” And who, if not the owner of the construction company, should know about this?