Belarusian businessman sponsored the Ice Hockey World Championship in Switzerland
The company «Shate-M Plus», owned by Belarusian businessman Konstantin Shavel, became a sponsor of the 2026 Ice Hockey World Championship, which is taking place these days in Switzerland, writes the publication «Belarusy i rynok» (Belarusians and the Market).
Photo: ihf.com
The car parts brand Patron adorns the arenas in Zurich and Fribourg alongside Škoda and Liqui Molly, which are banned in Belarus. Also among the sponsors of the world hockey championship are brands such as Tissot, Wuert, Sika, Swiss Air, Nike, Nokian Tyres, Allegro, and others.
Konstantin Shavel, who is included in the top 100 successful businessmen of Belarus for 2025, also has a large business in Russia. However, in Switzerland, his brand Patron is represented not by Belarusian and Russian companies, but by a subsidiary from Kazakhstan — «Shate-M Plus» from Astana. Although the Kazakhstan national team itself is not competing in Switzerland this time — it left the top division last year. Patron has been a partner of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for ten years — since 2016.
The «Shate-M Plus» group of companies is one of the largest distributors of car parts in Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan. Some of these are produced under their own brand Patron at partner enterprises. According to the company's website, these are 70 factories located in China, South Korea, Turkey, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Belarus, Taiwan, Malaysia, Lithuania, Hungary, and Poland.
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