Marvel-Distributsiya, one of Russia’s biggest electronics distributors, has launched a production cluster in St. Petersburg to manufacture servers, data storage systems (DSS) and network equipment under its own brand name F+, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported. Also on the table is the manufacture of smartphones and tablets for corporates, as well as printers and multifunctional devices.

In DSS production, Marvel is teaming up with the U.S.’ Hitachi Vantara; in multifunctional devices production with Lexmark, another American manufacturer; and in servers, the Russian company partners with China’s Lenovo. Total investment in the project has yet to be announced.

Some product lines may be localized in Russia for the first time; yet the depth of localization will depend on “specific terms of agreements,” Marvel was quoted as saying. The current production capacity is up to 5,000 servers and data storage systems a year, with plans to triple the capacity by the end of 2021.

The partnership is expected to help the international cluster participants bypass restrictions regarding imports into Russia as part of import substitution policies.

By the end of 2020, Russia’s market for server equipment was worth $1.3b, following an 18.2% annual growth, according to IDC analysts. The U.S.’ Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Dell, Russia’s Yadro and China’s Huawei were in the lead as key suppliers.