Sergey Kogogin, General Director of KAMAZ PTC, visited the company's factories. He saw the achievements of the investment project "Increasing the Production Capacity of Front Axles for Advanced KAMAZ Vehicles" and noted its financial viability.
The facilities to be visited included a forge plant, an automobile plant and an engine plant, which are part of the new process flow. The head of the company got acquainted with the results of the investment project, under which a new line producing 7.5 t front axles with maintenance-free bearings and 9 t front axles for K5 generation KAMAZ vehicles was put into operation.
The project "Increasing the Production Capacity of Front Axles for Advanced KAMAZ Vehicles" opened in 2018 is currently at the completion stage. It is intended to increase production capacity for processing front axle parts (beams, steering knuckles, levers, front hubs) for future vehicles to ensure output of up to 40 thousand units per year under the production program valid till 2025.
The updated existing equipment and the purchased new equipment helped arrange the high-tech production of front axles for the new generation of vehicles. The goal of the project to create a capacity for the front axle production with annual output of 40 thousand parts has been achieved.
Under the project, after research and development efforts, KAMAZ mastered the production of its own 7.5 t front axles with maintenance-free bearings. The company also completed R&D activities and arranged production of 9-tonne front axles with disc and drum brakes for all vehicle models. This autumn, the serial production of 5490 NEO-2 vehicles with 9-tonne axles and KAMAZ-6580 vehicles with 9-tonne axles was launched. The serial production of KAMAZ-65801 vehicles with 9-tonne axles is scheduled for the end of the year. The year 2022 is to see the serial production of KAMAZ-65208, KAMAZ-65209 and KAMAZ-54901 vehicles with 9-tonne axles.
“Our new K5 vehicle sets new requirements to the front axle. They concern easy steering, better vehicle handling and a longer useful life. It was necessary to modify the front axle. And now we’ve completed the project worth 1.5 billion rubles, which embraces three plants. We have improved the quality and consumer properties of KAMAZ vehicles, and this is what the new generation line needs,” commented Sergey Kogogin.
According to the General Director of KAMAZ, the project was completed on time. Next year, it is expected to boost production volumes of K5 generation vehicles – by 3.5 times. “And it’s important how our investment worked. I’m satisfied with what I’ve seen at the finish line. The program has been almost completed at all factories. And we can be sure that we will get the quality required for the front axle of K5 vehicles,” he noted.
The head of the company also drew attention to other important aspects, including the economic efficiency of the project and improved working conditions. “The project has created dozens of modern jobs with completely different working conditions. Labor productivity has risen sharply. Of course, the requirements for the staff competence are also getting stricter, and it will be necessary to train our personnel. At the same time, it is important that the workers will perform their duties in radically different conditions,” stressed Sergey Kogogin. “The prime cost of the axle should be taken into account too. The difference in price between the purchased axle and our new axle is palpable. With 12 thousand front axles produced locally, we will recoup the entire project. The project is cost-effective, for sure.”