OREANDA-NEWS. ZF KAMA – the joint venture between KAMAZ (a member of State Corporation Rostec) and the German concern Zahnrad Fabrik celebrated the official opening of a modern production facility in Naberezhnye Chelny. The new building will allow the JV to organize its own thermal production, and also widen the assortment of gearboxes and their details. The joint enterprise will require around 90 million euros of investment until 2016, and its production capacity will increase by 2.5 times.

Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Rostec, Dr. Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Sergey Kogogin, Director General of KAMAZ, and Vasil Shaykhraziev, Mayor of Naberezhnye Chelny were among the prominent guests.

“Strengthening cooperation with the world’s leading producers is one of strategic priorities of Rostec,” Sergey Chemezov, CEO of State Corporation, emphasized. “Cooperation with Zahnrad Fabrik enabled to master production of the best European gearboxes for trucks which correspond with the latest world standards. The new production building will enable the JV to increase its productivity by 2.5 times in the next several years and KAMAZ to maintain its position among the leaders of the truck industry.”
JV ZF KAMA is KAMAZ’s first joint production arranged with a foreign company to produce goods under its brand. The new building, 22,000 square meters in area, will enable the JV to widen the model range of localized gearboxes and their details (currently, at 47 percent) and create its own thermal production necessary to increase the output.

The joint enterprise will require around 90 million euros of investment until 2016. By then, the production capacity is expected to increase by 2.5 times; ZF KAMA will produce up to 50,000 Ecosplit and Ecomid transmissions a year. They will be supplied to KAMAZ and other companies, including MAZ.

The new enterprise will create 500 high-tech workplaces. “With the expansion of production in Naberezhnye Chelny we laid an important foundation for the future. We are firmly convinced that this key market will develop positively and now we are able to serve this market even better,” said Dr. Stefan Sommer, ZF’s Chief Executive Officer.

“In order to improve the competitiveness of our KAMAZ trucks, we rely on technology transfer and the collaboration with renowned international automotive suppliers, which certainly includes ZF,” emphasized Sergey Kogogin, General Director at KAMAZ. “The investment in the joint venture ZF Kama continues to guarantee our customers modern and high quality products."