Belarusian Automobile Plant
(BelAZ)
TypeState owned enterprise
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1948
Headquarters
Žodzina, Belarus
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Piotr Parkhomchyk
ProductsDump trucks
Haul trucks
Heavy equipment
Goods wagons
RevenueIncrease €979.9 million (2018)[1]
Decrease €177.9 million (2018)[1]
Decrease €139.3 million (2018)[1]
Total assets793,298,000 euro (2015) Edit this on Wikidata
OwnerBelarusian government (100%)[2][3]
Number of employees
9927 (2016)[3]
Websitebelaz.by
Mining dump truck BelAZ-7547
1971 USSR postage stamp depicting BelAZ 540

BelAZ (Belarusian: Беларускі аўтамабільны завод, romanized: Belaruski autamabilny zavod, lit. 'Belarusian Automobile Plant', Russian: Белорусский автомобильный завод or БелАЗ, romanized: Belorusskii avtomobilnyi zavod) is a Belarusian automobile plant and one of the world's largest manufacturers of large and especially large dump trucks, as well as other heavy transport equipment for the mining and construction industries.

BelAZ is a site for one of the largest Commonwealth of Independent States investment projects. The factory finalized two of the three scheduled phases of the technical re-equipment and upgrades. The Quality Management System applied in research and development, fabrication, erection and after-sale service of the equipment complies with international ISO 9000 standards.

History

  • In 1948, a peat extraction machinery plant was constructed by the railroad station Žodzina.
  • In 1958 it was renamed into BelAZ. Initially it produced MAZ trucks.
  • In 1961 the first 27-tonne BelAZ pit and quarry dump truck was manufactured.
  • In 2006 the independent Mogilev Automobile Plant (MoAZ) was merged into BelAZ.
  • In fall of 2006 the first delivery of BelAZ-75600.[4]
  • In April 2012, BelAZ announced it would hold an IPO – the first in Belarus.[5]
  • In September 2013, BelAZ presented the first sample of mining dump truck BelAZ-75710, the world largest dump truck with 450 tons load capacity.[6]

Political repressions, international sanctions

On 21 June 2021, BelAZ 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 Lukashenka following the controversial presidential election of 2020. According to the official decision of the EU,

"[BelAZ] is a source of significant revenue for the Lukashenka regime. Lukashenka stated that the government will always support the company, and described it as “Belarusian brand” and “part of the national legacy”. OJSC BelAZ has offered its premises and equipment to stage a political rally in support of the regime. Therefore OJSC “Belaz” benefits from and supports the Lukashenka regime."[7]

Moreover,

"the employees of OJSC “Belaz” who took part in strikes and peaceful protests in the aftermath of the fraudulent August 2020 elections in Belarus were threatened with layoffs and intimidated by the company management. A group of employees was locked indoors by OJSC Belaz to prevent them from joining the other protesters. The company management presented a strike to the media as a staff meeting. Therefore OJSC “Belaz” is responsible for the repression of civil society and supports the Lukashenka regime."[7]

On the same day, BelAZ was also sanctioned by Canada.[8] Later, Switzerland also sanctioned the company.[9][10]

On 30 June 2021, Rolls-Royce Holdings ended its cooperation with BelAZ as a result of EU sanctions,[11] in September 2021 Cummins joined the ban.[12]

According to a journalistic investigation, after BelAZ was blacklisted by the European Union, a Belarusian company controlled by a citizen of Lithuania was used for shipping BelAZ trucks to Chile via the Lithuanian port of Klaipėda.[13]

In March 2023, the U.S. Treasury included BelAZ and its CEO Sergei Nikiforovich in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List.[14] In May 2023, Ukraine also imposed sanctions against BelAZ.[15]

Models

BelAZ-548A (1967)
BelAZ-75214
BelAZ-7513
BelAZ-75450

Discontinued models

Mining dump trucks

  • MAZ-525, 25 t (1958–1965)
  • BelAZ-540, 27 t (1965)
  • BelAZ-540A
  • BelAZ-540B, 45 t
  • BelAZ-548A, 40 t (1967)
  • BelAZ-548B, 65 t
  • BelAZ-549, 75–80 t (1969)
  • BelAZ-7519, 110–120 t (1977)
  • BelAZ-7521, 180 t (1979)
  • BelAZ-75211, 170–220 t (1983)
  • BelAZ-75214
  • BelAZ-7522
  • BelAZ-75303
  • BelAZ-75483

Current model range

Mining dump trucks

  • BelAZ-7540, 30 t
  • BelAZ-7545, 45 t
  • BelAZ-7547, 42–45 t
  • BelAZ-7555, 55–60 t (since 1994)
  • BelAZ-7557, 90 t
  • BelAZ-7513, 110–130 t (since 1996)
  • BelAZ-7517, 154–160 t
  • BelAZ-7530, 180–220 t
  • BelAZ-7531, 240 t
  • BelAZ-7560, 320–360 t
  • BelAZ-7558, 90 t
  • BelAZ-7571, 450 t (since 2013)

Note: New models[16] are highlighted in bold.

Construction & road-building vehicles

Other vehicles

  • MoAZ-75296, low-profile mining and tunneling concrete mixer truck
  • BelAZ-74212, aircraft tug

Other products

Sponsorship in football

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 IFRS Audit 2018
  2. ↑ "БелАЗ проводит допэмиссию акций второй раз за год". Archived from the original on 2021-06-13. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  3. 1 2 БЕЛАЗ ОАО - управляющая компания холдинга "БЕЛАЗ-ХОЛДИНГ"
  4. ↑ Два новых карьерных самосвала "БелАЗ-75600" грузоподъемностью 320 т. (in Russian). 2006-09-11. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  5. ↑ "BelAZ Truck to hold first Belarusian IPO". Steelguru. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "BELAZ produced the world's largest dump truck with 450 tons load capacity". Land of Ancestors. 2013. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  7. 1 2 COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2021/997 - Official Journal of the European Union, 21.06.2021
  8. ↑ "Consolidated Canadian Autonomous Sanctions List". Global Affairs Canada. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  9. ↑ Shields, Michael; Liffey, Kevin (2021-07-07). Liffey, Kevin (ed.). "Swiss widen sanctions list against Belarus". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  10. ↑ "Sanctions program: Belarus: Verordnung vom 11. August 2021 über Massnahmen gegenüber Belarus (SR 946.231.116.9), Anhang 7 und 8" (PDF). Staatssekretariat für Wirtschaft. 2021-08-11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  11. ↑ Rolls Royce Ends Cooperation With BelAZ - Charter'97, 30 June 2021
  12. ↑ "Cummins stops cooperation with BelAZ". Belsat. 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  13. ↑ Cerniauskas, Sarunas; Yarashevich, Ales; Kranceviciute, Migle (2021-11-25). "Ex-Prison Warden in Lithuania Struck $1M Deal with Sanctioned Belarusian State Truckmaker". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
  14. ↑ "U.S. imposes sanctions against BelAZ and MAZ". Interfax. March 24, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Open Joint Stock Company "BELAZ" - the management company of the holding "BELAZ-HOLDING"". National Agency on Corruption Prevention.
  16. ↑ "BelAZ. Our Products. Mining Dump Trucks". Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to BelAZ vehicles.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.