KrAZ plant: history, cars. Kremenchug Automobile Plant

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 20:55

The Kremenchug KrAZ plant has experienced a lot during its existence - war, endless reorganization of the engineering industry, crises, reshuffles of the leadership. Even the dates of birth of this enterprise are two. The plant managed to stay afloat even in the difficult 90s. Today, KrAZ is one of the largest automotive production in Ukraine.

History of the KrAZ plant: an enterprise in the 30-40s. last century

To build KrAZ, like many other industrial giants, the government of the USSR decided in the 30s of the past century. The small city of Kremenchug, Poltava region, was chosen as the location of the new enterprise. Initially, the plant was designed for the production of complex aviation equipment. However, these grandiose plans of the Soviet government, unfortunately, were not destined to come true. WWII has begun. The construction of the plant had to be frozen for several years.

Bridge manufacturing

After the end of the war, the profile of the future enterprise decided to change. A ruined country, above allother things, it was necessary to restore a lot of bridges blown up during the hostilities. The new Kremenchug enterprise produced the first span products already in 1948. For the next eight years, the KrAZ plant specialized only in the production of bridges. During all this time, more than six hundred similar structures were assembled here, the total length of which was 27 km.

Combines

Over time, the country began to gradually recover, and the task of raising agriculture became a priority. In 1956, the Kremenchug plant was again decided to re-profile. This time the enterprise was transferred to the Ministry of Agricultural and Tractor Engineering. Since that time, the KrAZ plant (Ukraine) began to produce combines for harvesting corn. And although this crop did not gain much popularity in the country and was soon almost completely forgotten, the enterprise managed to supply farms with more than 11 thousand units of such equipment.

In addition to harvesters, the plant also produced beet loaders, beet pilers, tractor wheels and road rollers during these years.

First cars

The next turning point in the history of the enterprise, in fact, being its second birth, was 1958. It was then that the leadership of the USSR decided to transfer the capacities of the Yaroslavl Automobile Plant to Kremenchug. Thus, the company survived another, this time the last, reconstruction and switched to the production of heavy three-axle trucks. At the same time, the Yaroslavl plant was redesigned for the manufacture of power units.

The first car "Dnepr-222" rolled off the assembly line of the enterprise in 1959. It was a ten-ton dump truck with a two-stroke engine manufactured by the Yaroslavl plant. The design of this powerful motor was developed by engineers based on the YAZ-214 and 219. The name "Dnepr" was subsequently decided not to be retained for the car. Dump trucks produced in Kremenchug received the traditional Soviet marking ending in "AZ".

Cars for export

In the 60s and later, the Kremenchug plant produced only heavy trucks KrAZ itself. In 1960, the equipment produced at this enterprise was exported for the first time. At this time, the plant began to assemble, among other things, truck modifications designed to work in tropical regions. Competition in Western markets was already quite high at that time. If you missed something, you could lose customers for many years. However, fortunately, this did not happen. The trucks produced by the Kremenchug plant began to enjoy immense popularity in many countries. They were delivered, for example, to China, India, Afghanistan, Argentina. Also, the equipment of this brand was exported from the USSR and to Finland. Initially, the KrAZ plant supplied abroad with about 500 vehicles per year. By the 1970s, this figure had grown to several thousand.

Ukrainian-made trucks were especially valued in hot tropical countries in Soviet times. Western "flimsy" equipment, unlike KrAZ, often simply does not meet the specific climatic conditions of such regions.withstood.

Truck upgrades

The first new KrAZ modification rolled off the production line in 1965. It was a modern, powerful vehicle for that time, equipped with a five-speed gearbox and an improved YaMZ-238 engine, marked 257. The KrAZ plant produced such trucks until 1995.

In 1978, in parallel with the KrAZ-257, the company began production of a truck modification marked 250. In 1979, this model was decided to be improved. As a result, a KrAZ-260 off-road modification with a 6 x 6 wheel formula left the assembly line of the enterprise. It was this car that became the ancestor of the modern family of Kremenchug dump trucks, tractors and off-road vehicles.

AutoKrAZ

In order to increase the number of trucks produced in 1976, the government of the USSR decided to establish the AvtoKrAZ production association. In addition to the Kremenchug plant, it included several other giants of the country's machine-building industry. Such a reorganization in the future really bore fruit and made it possible to significantly increase the volume of truck production in the country. Together with Kremenchug, the association included plants:

• Kamenetsk-Podolsky aggregate.
• Mariupol radiator.
• Tokmak forging and stamping.
• Kremenchug wheeled.

Also, the Simferopol Autosteering Wheel Plant became a part of AvtoKrAZ. In subsequent years, enterprises were additionally included in the association:

• Sinelnikovskoe spring.
• Kherson cardan shafts.
• Poltava auto-aggregate.

It was on the basis of all these enterprises that the KrAZ-260V vehicle, an extremely popular off-road tractor, began to be produced in the country. This powerful truck subsequently became the standard of quality for many years, including for Western competitors.

Factory today

In 1996, the AvtoKrAZ association was reorganized into a holding. In 1999, it was bought by the Ukrainian-German joint venture Mega-Motoros. In 2002, on the basis of the holding, the Trading House of HC "AvtoKraz" was created. At present, the holding is registered as a public joint stock company.

Production volumes in the 90s at the plant, of course, were significantly reduced. For a long time, the company did not operate at full capacity. However, at the beginning of the millennium, the situation at the plant began to gradually stabilize. Currently, work in Kremenchug is in full swing, and the company uses most of its capacity. Trucks are currently produced here in a variety of modifications. For example, in the first half of 2016 alone, the company's sales amounted to UAH 618 million. In 2017, the plant plans to produce at least 1,200 vehicles. Of course, in comparison with Soviet times, this figure is not particularly large. For example, in 1986, 30,655 cars left the assembly line of the plant. However, the pace of production at the plant continues to increase as before.

In what areas of the national economy the company's products are used

The main products manufactured by AvtoKrAZ PJSC today are dump trucks. It is this type of heavy equipment in our time that is most in demand in the national economy of Ukraine and most other countries. The company also produces:

• flatbed vehicles;
• truck tractors;
• chassis;
• trunk and timber trucks;
• tanker trucks;
• tankers.

Complex equipment for the mining industry, oil and gas, utilities, road services and even emergency response can be installed on the chassis assembled at the enterprise.

Technique for the military

The KrAZ plant (Kremenchug) today specializes not only in the production of trucks intended for use in civilian purposes. Two- and three-axle military vehicles are also assembled at this plant, adopted by the army of both Ukraine itself and other countries of the world.

In 2011, the first all-terrain vehicle KrAZ-5233 "Spetsnaz" was produced at the enterprise. The factory also supplies to the market:

• airborne KrAZ-6322 "Soldier";
• KrAZ chassis for military vehicles (63221, 6322 and 5233HE);
• KrAZ military tractors (6443 and 6446).

The advantages of military equipment produced by the enterprise are, among other things, its speciallayout. Thanks to this design, the degree of crew security is significantly increased. In the event of a mine collision, the front axle of this vehicle is destroyed. At the same time, people in the cockpit remain, although stunned, but still alive.

Modern modifications

The carrying capacity of the equipment produced today at PJSC "AvtoKrAZ" can be equal to 13-22 tons. The KrAZ-6510, 65055, 7133С4 and 65032 dump trucks produced at the enterprise are the most popular among consumers. Their technical characteristics can be found in the table below.

KrAZ dump trucks

KrAZ modification	Wheel formula	Capacity (tonnes)	Body volume (m3)
6510	6 x 4	13.5	8
65055	6 x 4	16	10.5
65032	6 x 6	18	12
7133С4	8 x 4	22	20

KrAZ (Kremenchug Automobile Plant) also produces the popular VARZ-0192 dump truck-semi-trailer. It is usually supplied together with the KrAZ-6443054 tractor. The characteristics of this pair are:

• body volume - 25 m3;
• carrying capacity - 34tons.

Instead of a conclusion

AutoKrAZ trucks have been very popular both in the Ukrainian market and abroad for several decades. Consumers buy them quite willingly. However, the management of the holding, of course, is not going to stop there. In order for the company to continue to flourish, the trucks it produces must, of course, always remain competitive. Therefore, work in Kremenchug to improve heavy equipment is ongoing. As a result of the efforts of the management, engineers and other specialists of KrAZ, the plant has recently been gaining an increasing share of the world market for heavy equipment.