Sergei Lesin. Image credit: belaz.by
The Belarusian automobile engineering company BelAZ has signed long-term cooperation agreements with three partner companies from Russia, BelTA has learned.
Ahead of the official opening of the 13th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia, OAO BelAZ detailed the terms of new agreements with leading Russian enterprises aimed at deepening industrial cooperation and at import substitution.
In particular, preparations have been launched together with St. Petersburg-based Power Machines to localize the manufacture of electrical machines at premises of the Belarusian plant and prospects have been outlined for creating traction electric drives for super-heavy haul trucks with the carrying capacity of 290-360 tonnes, which will be stipulated by a joint five-year program. The Moscow-based company Ruselprom will focus on developing traction electric drives for 290-tonne vehicles and will also work together with BelAZ to implement a landmark project to create a power drive for a passenger aerial ropeway. The agreement with Novotroitsk-based Ural Steel provides for shipping a batch of high-strength thick-sheeted steel for testing for the sake of integrating Russian steel into the manufacturing cycle of platforms for haul trucks with the carrying capacity ranging from 130 to 220 tonnes.
BelAZ Director General Sergei Lesin noted that the signed documents largely formalize the continuation of traditional contractual cooperation because the partner enterprises historically serve as suppliers for the plant’s assembly line.
The company head called expanding the supplier pool to master the production of 130-tonne haul trucks with alternating-current electromechanical transmission an important development vector. Sergei Lesin emphasized that demand for such peculiar vehicles grows steadily every year and attracting new qualified suppliers will allow BelAZ to secure the required volumes and quality at an optimal price.
Assessing overall cooperation with the Russian Federation, the director general stated that Russia remains a key partner for both the sales market and procurement. The Russian Federation represents the world’s second-largest consumer market for haul trucks while the share of Russian components in any model of Belarusian equipment makes up at least 25%. “BelAZ is geographically located in the Republic of Belarus, but hundreds of enterprises in the Russian Federation work for it and Russian components and materials are used. Most of the vehicles that are made here are shipped to the Russian Federation. More than 85%. In other words, we jointly manufacture a product that then works in the Russian Federation in mining industry,” Sergei Lesin explained.
The public joint-stock company (OAO) BelAZ, the managing company of the holding company BelAZ, will become one of the central industrial sites of the 13th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia, hosted by Minsk and Minsk Oblast. Two out of ten panel sessions of the international forum will run on the premises of the enterprise on 25 June.
The forum delegates will focus on key topics for direct dialogue: “Support for social and economic development of Belarus and Russia: tools and opportunities” and “Regional development: performance evaluation, achievement of priorities and goals, facilitating the growth of economic potential.”
As one of Belarus’ main brands and a prime example of fruitful cooperation with leaders of Russian industry, BelAZ will present its advanced developments in partnership with strategic partners at the forum. These include import-independent machines, which are assembled from Belarusian and Russian components, innovative eco-friendly transport (powered by gas engine fuel, hydrogen, as well as battery and hybrid dump trucks), and innovative digital solutions – robotic and unmanned equipment.