KAMAZ History
In mid-sixties of the 20th century the truck fleet didn’t satisfy all needs of the USSR economy. Even if the output volume of the models of that time had been sharply increased, it wouldn’t have helped provide the needed goods turnover.
It was necessary to produce a new comfortable, powerful, multipurpose, efficient under any climatic and road conditions truck of 8 to 20 tonnes payload. None of the country’s functioning automobile plants was able to perform such a task.
In August 1969 the USSR Council of Ministers made a decision to establish a complex of plants producing heavy-duty vehicles in Naberezhnye Chelny. The city is located in the heart of the country. The navigable Kamaz and Volga rivers and proximity to the railway solved all problems of providing the future auto giant with building and raw material, equipment, components. According to the project, it had to produce 150 thousand heavy-duty vehicles and 250 thousand engines per year.
On December 13, 1969 the first bucket of earth was dug out on the building ground of the Kama auto plant.
May 1974
The first engine was assembled in the design manager’s development shop of KAMAZ.
December 1975
The first power unit was assembled at the engine plant.
February 16, 1976
The first Kama truck came off the mother gathering conveyor of the automobile plant.
December 29, 1976
The State Commission headed by the USSR Minister of Automotive Industry V.N. Polyakov signed a document about the start-up of the first line of the Kama complex of heavy-duty truck production plants.
1987
Oka minicar production was set up. On 21 December of the same year the first Kama Oka-VAZ-1111 minicar came off the assembly line. In 1994 there was established an Oka minicar plant intended for output of 75000 vehicles per year.
1988
According to experts’ estimates, from the first days of production of KAMAZ vehicles the country realized a transport profit of about 8 billion roubles from their operation. Thus, already for the first ten years of work KAMAZ completely made up all state capital investments in its construction.
1990
On 23 August the State Government made a decision to establish KAMAZ joint-stock company on the basis of property of the production association. The articles of KAMAZ association were approved at the general meeting on August 11, 1990. KAMAZ JSC is the first joint-stock company established in the Soviet Union of the post-perestroika period.
1993
On 14 April at the engine plant there started a fire which spread to the whole enterprise in a few minutes. An engineering building was almost completely burnt down; the most complicated process equipment was destroyed. Fire damage repair included restoration of 100 thousand engines production capacities and set-up of power unit production on the basis of up-to-date process equipment. Thanks to support of Russia’s and Tatarstan’s governments, KAMAZ employees managed to restore the enterprise for less than a year. Already in December 1993 the engine plant turned out the first production after the fire.
1999
On 30 August the 1,600,000th heavy-duty vehicle came off the assembly line. Over 2 million diesel engines are produced.
2000
Development and production of engines corresponding with Euro-2 ecological requirements were started.
2003
– More than 1.7 million trucks and 2.3 million engines are produced;
– Production of medium tonnage trucks of 3-5 tonnes payload was mastered;
– The 250,000th Oka minicar was produced;
– The first model of the NEFAZ bus of the “Tourist” class on KAMAZ chassis was developed;
– There were produced KAMAZ-65226 all-wheel drive truck tractors of 97 tonnes GVW with 27 tonnes admissible load on the fifth wheel.
2004
– The engine corresponding with Euro-3 ecological standards was certified;
– KAMAZ made its debut at one of the most prestigious exhibitions in the world – International Motor Show in Hanover (Germany).
– Modern production facilities for output of new generation engines were created at the enterprise.
2005
– OJSC KAMAZ was put on the list of the country’s strategic companies;
– A gearbox production enterprise was created jointly with Zahnrad Fabrik (Germany);
– Oka motor car production was sold to Severstal-Avto (now Sollers);
– KAMAZ-Engineering joint venture was created in Kokshetau (Kazakhstan).
2006
– A general contract was concluded with Dürr Systems Engineering (Germany) in the sphere of technical development and reengineering of the plants of KAMAZ Group till 2010;
– Production of engines of B series (140-275 hp) was established jointly with Cummins Company (USA);
– Sergey Kogoghin, Director General of OJSC KAMAZ was elected Chairman of Board of Association of Russian Automakers (OAR);
– There was started realization of a program for renewal of the company’s service network;
– The KAMAZ-master team won the seventh (the fifth in succession) victory at the Dakar international off-road rallies.
2007
– 52650 KAMAZ trucks and 63200 engines and power units were produced which was the record of the last 13 years. With account of more elaborate design of vehicles, their more sophisticated production technology and, naturally, labour-intensiveness, the level of workload of the last years of the pre-market epoch was reached;
– The 1.8-millionth KAMAZ vehicle came off the assembly line of the automobile plant;
– The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation for the 9th time running named OJSC KAMAZ “The Best Exporter of the Russian Federation” in the automotive industry. On foreign markets there were realized 13444 units of KAMAZ equipment, the record number for the whole history of export;
– The RF President issued a decree to award S.A. Kogoghin, Director General of OJSC KAMAZ, the Order of Friendship;
– There was signed an agreement to establish KNORR-BREMSE KAMA brake assembly production joint venture.
2008
– There was signed an agreement to establish Federal Mogul Naberezhnye Chelny automobile components production joint venture;
– There was signed an agreement to establish farm tractors production joint venture;
– Sergey Chemezov, Director General of Rostekhnologii State Corporation, was elected Chairman of KAMAZ Board of Directors.