Minsk Automobile Plant Explained

Minsk Automobile Plant
MAZ or Minski Autamabilny Zavod
Native Name:Minski Autamabilny Zavod
Native Name Lang:be
Type:State-owned enterprise
Industry:Automotive
Location City:Minsk
Location Country:Belarus
Area Served:Russia
Eastern Europe
Key People:Valery Ivankovich
Products:Trucks, buses, trolleybuses
Net Income: US$ 167 million (2011)
Owner:Belarusian government (100%)[1]
Num Employees:16,594 (2016)

Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) (Belarusian: Адкрытaе Акцыянэрнaе Таварыства «Мінскі аўтамабільны завод», Open JSC Minski Autamabilny Zavod, Russian: Минский автомобильный завод Minskij Avtomobilnyj Zavod) is a state-run automotive manufacturer association in Belarus, one of the largest in Eastern Europe.

History

After a decision by the Soviet Industrial command in August 1944, the plant was begun as the Second World War ended.[2] The first MAZ model, the MAZ-200, entered production in 1949. This truck used General Motors-designed two-stroke engines and was a continuation of a truck developed by the Yaroslavl Motor Plant (YaMZ), who also built the engines.[2] Later on, YaMZ's own original engines were developed and implemented in the MAZ-500 series which was first shown in 1955, but only reaching full series production in 1965.[3]

Apartment buildings, shops, medical clinics, cinemas etc. were built in close proximity to the MAZ plant, providing plant workers with local (though limited) necessities. On many of the construction sites, German prisoners of war were working together with Belarusian construction workers.

It manufactures heavy-duty trucks, buses, trolleybuses, road tractors and semi-trailers for semi-trailer trucks, and cranes. MAZ was, and possibly is, the world's largest manufacturer of TELs (Transporter-Erector-Launchers) for many of the world's mobile ballistic missiles, from the MAZ-543 used to carry and launch the Scud B through to the Topol M's 8-axle TEL.

In 2020, it was said that the MAZ was the primary supplier for the chassis of such Russian army vehicles as the launchers for the Iskander-M and the S-400 because the domestic Russian products are of comparatively low quality.[4]

Political repressions, sanctions

On 21 June 2021, MAZ (as well as its general manager Ivankovich) was added to the sanctions list of the European Union for repressions against workers who participated in mass protests against the authoritarian regime of Alexander Lukashenko following the controversial presidential election of 2020. According to the official decision of the EU,

"[MAZ] is a source of revenue for the Lukashenka regime. OJSC MAZ has offered its premises and equipment to stage a political rally in support of the regime. Therefore, OJSC “MAZ” benefits from and supports the Lukashenka regime."[5]

Moreover,

Employees of OJSC “MAZ” who took part in strikes and peaceful protests in the aftermath of fraudulent August 2020 elections in Belarus, were intimidated and later laid off by the company’s managements. A group of employees was locked indoors by OJSC MAZ to prevent them from joining the other protesters. Therefore, MAZ is responsible for the repression of civil society and supports the Lukashenka regime.

On the same day, MAZ and Ivankovich were also sanctioned by Canada.[6] Later, Switzerland also sanctioned the company and its general manager.[7] [8]

In March 2023, the U.S. Treasury included MAZ and Ivankovich in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List.[9] In May 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions against the plant, followed by the U.S. sanctions on exports in 2024.[10]

Organization

The association consists of the MAZ plant proper, located in Minsk, which is the main enterprise of the association, as well as several secondary enterprises:

At some points of its history, MAZ was "united" with another heavy automobile company - BELAZ also located in Minsk area.

In 1991, a division specialising in heavy wheeled military vehicles was spun off into a separate business, MZKT.[11]

MAZ is 100% state-owned company.

Products

Among other products, MAZ city buses (see pictures below) are operating throughout Belarus, as well as in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Latvia and Estonia.[12]

In Serbia, working in cooperation with a local-based company BIK (Bus industries Kragujevac), a production of gas-powered buses named BIK-203 has been agreed, which are based on the platform of MAZ-203 model.[13] [14]

MAZ-MAN

In 1997, together with MAN, a joint Belarusian-German company JSC MAZ-MAN, was set up, which by 1998 had established full-scale production of heavy vehicles, using the F90 MAN cabs introduced 1986 and replaced in 1994. While production of tractors for international trade with 4x2 and 6x4 chassis layouts was a stated goal, development of exhaust gas regulations within the EU turned this into a illusion.

Models

Cars

Trucks

Buses

Special models

Generations

NoYears of releaseFeaturesImage
1 1950—1965 MAZ-200-series
2 1965—1977 MAZ-500-series
3 1977—1990 MAZ-5334/35-series
4 since 1981 MAZ-6422/5432-series
5 since 1997 MAZ-6430/5440-series

Sponsorship in football

Gallery

Trucks

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://emitent.info/issuers/1555 ОАО "МАЗ" - управляющая компания холдинга "БЕЛАВТОМАЗ"
  2. LundK . Schauen . Till . Bau-genossen . The joys of cooperative building . de . 63 . 1 (December/Januar 2016) . 24 . December 2015 . Last & Kraft . Vereinigte Fachverlage . Mainz, Germany . 1613-1606 .
  3. [#LundK|Schauen]
  4. News: Ferris . Emily . Could Russia's Reliance on Belarus be its Soft Underbelly? . The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies . 12 January 2023.
  5. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021R0997&from=EN COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2021/997
  6. Web site: Consolidated Canadian Autonomous Sanctions List. 19 October 2015 . Global Affairs Canada. 2021-06-29. en.
  7. Web site: en. Swiss widen sanctions list against Belarus . Michael . Shields. Liffey . Kevin . 2021-07-07. Reuters. https://web.archive.org/web/20210707215407/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swiss-widen-sanctions-list-against-belarus-2021-07-07/. 2021-07-07. 2021-07-10. Liffey, Kevin. live.
  8. Web site: en. Sanctions program: Belarus: Verordnung vom 11. August 2021 über Massnahmen gegenüber Belarus (SR 946.231.116.9), Anhang 7 und 8. 2021-08-11. Staatssekretariat für Wirtschaft. https://web.archive.org/web/20210815071230/https://www.seco.admin.ch/dam/seco/de/dokumente/Aussenwirtschaft/Wirtschaftsbeziehungen/Exportkontrollen/Sanktionen/Verordnungen/Belarus/belarus_2021-08-11.pdf. 2021-08-15. 2021-08-15. live.
  9. Web site: U.S. imposes sanctions against BelAZ and MAZ. March 24, 2023. Interfax.
  10. Web site: Open Joint Stock Company "Minsk Automobile Plant" (MAZ). National Agency on Corruption Prevention.
  11. Web site: Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant (MZKT). 2011-05-15. 2011-05-15.
  12. Web site: MAZ buses on display at Busworld 2007 - Economy / News headlines / Belarus News | Belarusian news | Belarus today | news in Belarus | Minsk news | BELTA - Belarus News | Belarusian news | Belarus today | news in Belarus | Minsk news | BELTA . 2016-01-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140306214645/http://news.belta.by/en/news/econom?id=185402 . 2014-03-06 .
  13. http://www.ekapija.com/website/en/page/231082/Gas-powered-bus-from-Kragujevac-company-Vulovi%C4%87-transport-presented-new-product-in-Zagreb Gas-powered bus from Kragujevac
  14. http://www.vulovictransport.com/index.php?id=265 MAZ-BIK 203
  15. Web site: Soviet Army Super Vehicles. May 2007.
  16. Web site: Автомодельное бюро: МАЗ-7904. 2013-06-10. 2013-06-10.
  17. Web site: Maz-7904.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Minsk Automobile Plant".

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