Visit to Vavilov Minsk Mechanical Plant

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko was informed about a new promising project as he toured Vavilov Minsk Mechanical Plant – Managing Company of BelOMO Holding Company.

BelOMO Director General Aleksandr Moroz informed the head of state about the operation of the enterprises and their financial and economic situation. According to him, the output is growing, there are no wage arrears. "All enterprises work steady, post net profit, and meet all indicators," Aleksandr Moroz noted.

Most of the output (65%) is exported, with half of it going to distant countries. One of the promising projects is the development of ABS and EBS braking systems for heavy-duty vehicles. "They are very much in demand. Russian companies are queuing. We competed with them before, but now there is a niche and we seek to gain a foothold," Aleksandr Moroz said.

The project to launch the production of import-substituting ABS and EBS systems for vehicles and trailers caters to the needs of Belarusian and Russian enterprises. The project targets heavy-duty trucks, buses, trolleybuses and agricultural machines.

By the end of the year, the company plans to begin the first tests of the ABS system. The EBS system will be ready in a year. Sources of financing are proprietary and borrowed funds.

"The project has been included in the program of our cooperation with the Russian Federation. The volumes of investments and production growth targets have been agreed," Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Parkhomchik explained.

The holding company has certain problems or, as Aleksandr Moroz put it, challenges to be solved.

The president drew attention to the fact that the holding company operates the Zenit enterprise, which used to make popular brands of cameras. Now only imported equipment is in use, the head of state noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko was assured that in terms of optics and mechanics the domestic technologies are world class. The issue to be addressed is competitiveness in the electronics segment.

BelOMO attaches special attention to the setting up of production facilities in small towns. In particular, the Zenit plant in Vileika will get a new lease on live. A production facility will be launched in Rogachev.

But the main product of the Minsk-based production facility is optics. The head of state was shown new developments in the field of optoelectronics, and informed about further development prospects.

"Money should be invested in those sectors where we have competencies," Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. "We should fine-tune the production and bring it to the world level, above the world level."

During the visit to the enterprise, the president saw the work of high-performance, high-precision machining centers with numerical program control.