Visiting the Minsk Automobile Plant in April 2016, President Alexander Lukashenko stated: "MAZ, like BELAZ and Motovelo, is the face of our country. We can in no way afford to ruin these enterprises. Therefore, to those skeptics and doubters: MAZ will exist, it will always exist, both during my tenure and after me. Whatever it costs me (and I tell you this as President), I will preserve this plant. Because it is not only a matter of my honour. Where will your children work? Our happiness is here, on this land. And we must think about how to preserve jobs for our children. Therefore, let's roll up our sleeves together and set ourselves the main task: MAZ will exist!"
The history of the Minsk Automobile Plant could well be the basis for an Oscar-winning film. It has all the elements for a captivating plot: an intriguing beginning and scope for heroism, a tense climax and twists of fate, unexpected resolutions and an inspiring finale. Over its almost 80-year history, the enterprise has experienced it all. In the new episode of the BELTA YouTube project "According to the Fact: The First's Decisions," you will learn why the Soviet truck manufacturer started with American "Fords" and "Studebakers," how a Minsk tractor unit conquered Paris and Brussels, and what, according to President Alexander Lukashenko, saved Belarusians from unemployment and poverty.
How "Fords" and "Studebakers" were assembled in Minsk
Well, let's rewind our film reel eight decades back. The founding date of the Minsk Automobile Plant is considered to be August 9, 1944. It was on this day that the USSR State Defense Committee resolved to establish an automobile assembly plant in Minsk. This decision was personally approved by Stalin.
You are well aware of what kind of time this was. The Belarusian capital had only just been liberated from the Nazi invaders, and the exhausted but unbroken Minsk residents set about restoring their city. Former partisans and front-line soldiers, who had never built large factories before, let alone engaged in mechanical engineering, eagerly asked to be taught. "We want to work and live in such a way as to feel that we did not shed blood for the freedom of our Motherland in vain," they declared.
People had to assemble vehicles during the day and unload trains delivering components at night. On weekends, if they could be called that, the factory workers devoted their last efforts to the restoration and improvement of the capital. And then, just a couple of months later, in November 1944, the first batch of vehicles assembled in Minsk was sent to the front. These were... American "Mack", "Ford", "Chevrolet", and "Studebaker" trucks. They were supplied to the Minsk plant from the USA in the form of assemblies and parts under the Lend-Lease agreement. Hundreds of other batches followed the first one. In two years, over 18,000 American trucks were assembled in Belarus for the front and the national economy, and in 1946, the plant ceased their production.
When Belarus Started Assembling Its Own Trucks
Before the war, only three enterprises in the USSR produced trucks: the Stalin Plant in Moscow, the Gorky Automobile Plant, and the Yaroslavl Automobile Plant. Heavy vehicles were the prerogative of Yaroslavl. However, very few were produced. The war disrupted all plans for the large-scale reconstruction of the plant. In the summer of 1945, after the Victory Parade, a review of the automotive equipment to be produced in the post-war years took place in the Kremlin. It was then that the fate of the under-construction automobile plant in Minsk was decided. Belarusians were to establish the production of their own trucks. The five-ton Yaroslavl trucks were taken as a basis. The name was decided simply - MAZ. And the emblem depicted a Belarusian bison. Thus, the creators emphasized the strength, power, and dynamism of the vehicle.
By the way, Alexander Lukashenko once spoke about this period to students of the National Children's Technopark: "Think about it, in the distant year of 1944, the war was still raging, a third of the population had perished, almost all our cities and villages were destroyed, roads and bridges were ruined, and yet work on restoration was already underway in Minsk. We received immense help from our fraternal republics that were part of the Soviet Union at that time. An automobile plant was being built, which, in about three years - in 1947 - would produce the first MAZ trucks."
By the mid-century, the Minsk Automobile Plant began producing 40-tonne dump trucks. Neither domestic nor global automotive engineering had any analogues. In 1958, the 40-tonne MAZ-530 dump truck was awarded the Grand Prix at the World Industrial Exhibition in Brussels as a vehicle of exceptionally high carrying capacity. In the same year, an event occurred at the plant that largely predetermined the enterprise's fate. Experimental models of the MAZ-500 and MAZ-503, which were to replace the first generation, were assembled here.
"In the early 1960s, our plant established its own design base. And the designers of our plant created a fundamentally new, progressive generation of automotive technology, the family of which was named MAZ-500 (with a so-called tilting cab over the engine). This design was created for the first time in the Soviet Union for heavy-duty vehicles. This also led to the technical re-equipment of the plant. And from January 1, 1966, the plant completely switched to producing MAZ-500 vehicles. The last vehicle of the first generation, the MAZ-200, rolled off the main assembly line on December 31, 1965. You can see it in front of the plant's entrance," noted Marina Sevastyanovich, head of the Minsk Automobile Plant Museum.
How a Belarusian Truck Conquered Europe
MAZ's engineering thought was decades ahead of the production capabilities not only of the plant itself but of the entire Soviet automotive industry. The experimental model of the famous concept car MAZ-2000 "Perestroika" is a prime example. The truck caused a real sensation at the exhibition in Paris. The Belgian magazine Transporama wrote: "Engineers from many firms closely studied the 'Perestroika,' and their dismissive smirk quickly turned into a grimace of surprise: why do the Russians have such a prototype, and we don't?" The European press was generous with praise: "The sensation of the World Paris Motor Show," "The Truck Train of the 21st Century."
In 1991, Perestroika itself ended, and work on the truck of the same name ceased. At the plant, as in all post-Soviet republics, there was no longer time for dreams and fantasies. The main task became survival.
What Happened at MAZ in the 1990s
"It was difficult, of course. I had young children at the time. I remember running around the factories looking for milk, but couldn't find any. There were difficulties with both food and work. People did odd jobs – after work or before. I repaired cars for acquaintances, did bodywork. Thank God, that's over," recalls Grigory Titarev, a bodyworker at the welding and painting shop for cabins.
Now, according to him, the situation at the enterprise is stable, and there is a lot of work. "We often work on Saturdays and earn money. I bought myself a car, and a dacha two years ago. Everything is fine with me. Now I'm even thinking of buying a new car at the dealership (I have a used one). Things have improved, I like it. I'm already retired. But it's boring to sit at home, so I go to work. And I plan to keep working. Why sit at home, one must work," says the factory worker.
Alexander Gimple, a setter of cold stamping equipment at the press shop, has been working at MAZ for almost half a century. He came to the enterprise at the end of 1977 and has been working in his shop ever since.
"The 1990s... It wasn't exactly hard, but there was less work. This useless collapse of the Soviet Union... The salary was small – 35-40 dollars. And there was a coupon system in the shops. When Alexander Lukashenko took over the country, he did well, he didn't let enterprises close. Little by little, the factory started to gain momentum. There are many people, and people need to be given work. Movement is life, so even though I'm retired, I'm still working. They asked me to stay on this year," said Alexander Gimple.
The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the downfall of the factory as well, recalls Alexander Linnik, a fitter and assembler: "Downturn, theft. Salaries were very low – equivalent to $30. Strikes. That's the kind of nonsense that was going on. When our current President came to power, he proved himself well. He started fighting the rampant banditry and theft of that time. I think it's his great achievement that we are living so normally today. Now there are completely different machines, completely different equipment. The machines are very serious, complex. Lots of electronics. There's a lot of work now, but there's a shortage of labour. For some reason, the skilled worker profession is not valued by young people today. Young people, I think, want everything at once and a lot, but it doesn't work like that. You can only steal a lot, but here you have to work."
Why Belarusian Authorities Support Giant Enterprises
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Belarusian authorities indeed paid paramount attention to their industrial giants. They were sometimes criticised for the priority given to microeconomics. The argument was that the market should regulate the operation of enterprises, and individuals should worry about their own fate. But Alexander Lukashenko had a different view. The President emphasised that supporting people and work collectives was the sacred duty of the authorities.
In 2000 alone, Belarusian factories received almost Br100 billion in state aid. This helped to preserve the work collectives. Over time, the enterprises began to generate tens of times more revenue for the budget than at the time they received preferences. And yet, it could have been much simpler: to sell, close, dismantle, divide. And end up in the backwaters of one empire or another.
Look at the Baltic countries, for example. They went West at the cost of destroying their real economy. Perhaps you remember the VEF radio factory in Latvia, famous throughout the Soviet Union, or the RAF minibuses from Riga? In the 1990s, these enterprises went bankrupt. For a long time, their territory was abandoned, and production buildings were destroyed. Now, the premises are rented out to trading and commercial firms.
Industrial giants must exist in Belarus, declared Alexander Lukashenko. It was these enterprises that sustained the entire Belarusian economy during the difficult years. The state managed to save them and bring them to a completely new level. And this, the President emphasised, saved the country and the people from unemployment and poverty. From destitution, as they say in Belarus.
How MAZ was eyed by competitors from the West and the East
In the 1990s, cooperation with the German automotive industry – manufacturers of MAN and Neoplan vehicles – helped the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) stay afloat. However, European companies failed to hook the Belarusian enterprise, so the partnership was short-lived. As time has shown, Belarus was the ultimate beneficiary of this arrangement.
In the 2010s, the Russian competitor, Kamaz, began to take an interest in MAZ. There were discussions about merging the two enterprises for several years. However, it later became known that Kamaz merely intended to take over its competitor, with no intention of investing in the Minsk production. In essence, MAZ, with its entire history, was to become just an auxiliary workshop for Kamaz. "What then is the point of privatisation? What benefit will MAZ and its workforce receive?" Alexander Lukashenko questioned. Even later, information emerged that Kamaz's plans were backed by its Western shareholders. This put everything into perspective. Naturally, they were not interested in an equal and fair partnership with Belarus. Incidentally, Kamaz's flirtation with the West also backfired.
"We were not very keen on allowing foreigners in here. Therefore, the sanctions imposed did not hit us as hard as, for example, Kamaz. Germans, primarily, entered there. We did not particularly indulge our machine builders in this direction. We also had Germans working with us. Both MAZ-MAN and Neoplan were at MAZ at one time. The contract ended, I shook their hands and said: 'Thank you, we will develop on our own from now on.' Whatever it takes, despite these difficulties and challenges. By the way, we also promoted such areas of cooperation in Russia. But your leaders at the time believed that if Germans or Americans came, it would bring such technologies, such happiness..." Alexander Lukashenko remarked at a meeting with the Governor of the Penza Region of Russia.
In recent years, cooperation between the two giants has been established. As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.
"With us, remember, there was always some red tape between Kamaz and MAZ. But now there is no competition at all. We produce goods for Kamaz – components, and Kamaz makes them for us. When certain companies (Western ones. – Ed. BELTA) left, this is how things work now. And there is enough market," the head of the Belarusian state said at a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
MAZ and KAMAZ should have understood long ago: it is better to compete in rally raids. Belarusian and Russian crews have been participating in races for many years, conquering steppes and deserts. That's where the real scope for competition lies. And the passions there are quite fierce. If only it were like that everywhere.
What are the prospects for the Minsk Automobile Plant
Today, MAZ passenger vehicles are represented by fifteen models and thirty modifications based on them. The range of trucks consists of six hundred models, including about three thousand modifications of tractors, flatbed trucks, dump trucks, log trucks, chassis for cranes, drilling rigs, tanks, refuellers, utility and road machinery. Products of the Minsk Automobile Plant are known in fifty countries. In addition to traditional markets, these include EU countries, Africa, and Latin America.
The enterprise states that the plant is fully loaded with work. New modifications of buses and trucks are being developed here, and special equipment is in demand. Among the new directions is the development of electric transport. But the main hopes are pinned on the new plant.
"Our plans for the development of passenger vehicles are ambitious. With the support of the head of state, we are building a new bus plant, and we will almost double our production capacity. In recent years, we have produced 1300-1500 units of passenger vehicles. This year, we will produce approximately 1810. After the new plant is commissioned, we will produce at least 3000 per year. Next year will be the most active phase of construction. We will erect the building, bring in the equipment, and by the end of the year the plant will be practically ready. Commissioning and start-up will remain. It will be operational in early 2025," said Alexander Ignatyuk, Deputy General Director of OJSC "MAZ" - Director for Economics.
How the history of the Minsk Automobile Plant will unfold further depends on many factors. We do not undertake to guess or predict. Today, we know the main thing - the plant is alive and developing. Thanks to the plant workers who have not abandoned their native enterprise, and to the decisions made by the First.
Source: belta.by