OREANDA-NEWS.  July 18, 2014. The United Engineering Centre (UEC) of GAZ Group celebrates its 85th anniversary. In July 1929, three years before commissioning of production facilities of the Gorky Automobile Plant, a design bureau of the company was established.

Over the past years, Nizhny Novgorod designers developed seven generations of trucks, six generations of cars that have been put in mass production, and over 300 models and modifications of vehicles. The latest developments of the Engineering Center include a family of light commercial vehicles “Gazelle NEXT”, future models of the medium-duty trucks “GAZon NEXT” and the off-roader “Sadko NEXT”.

For 85 years, the GAZ design school has passed a long way - from the technical department of the company to one of Russia's largest engineering and design centers. Over these years, more than 300 models and modifications of vehicles, trial design of trucks and passenger cars, military and specialty vehicles were developed.

By the legendary GAZ vehicles, developed by the plant engineers, one can study the history of our country. GAZ products have always organically fit into the context of key historical events, played an important role in life of the country and represented the whole epoch in life of the state. Industrialization of the entire country and 1.5-ton GAZ-AA, which played an important role in the Great Patriotic War; Moscow of 1930’s and the legendary “M” (GAZ-M1); armored vehicles and specialty vehicles GAZ-61, GAZ-64, GAZ-67 on the battlefields; postwar years and the cars “Pobeda” and GAZ-69; development of agriculture and the famous trucks GAZ-51, GAZ-63, GAZ-52, GAZ-53, GAZ-53A and GAZ-66; state apparatus of the Soviet Union and solid ZIM’s and Chaika’s; years of the Thaw of the 1960’s and a symbol of democratic changes Volga GAZ-21; 80’s and diesel GAZ-4301, GAZ-6008, and GAZ-3306; turning 90’s and the popular GAZelle which helped in development of the market economy, gave impetus to the development of small and medium-sized businesses and today continues to lead in the domestic commercial vehicle market.

Vladimir Tsipulin, automotive engineer, who headed the first design bureau, stood at the origins of the GAZ Engineering Center. In his presence bureau of chassis and engines, bureau of bodies, experimental laboratory, experimental workshop, translation bureau, all-plant photocopying office and a technical library were established. In 1933, the chief designer of the plant became Andrey Lipgart, whose name is associated with formation of the GAZ design school. The design school was headed in different years by Alexander Prosvirnin, Igor Mukhin, Yuri Kudryavtsev. Currently the GAZ design center is headed by Vladimir Chetverikov. Under his leadership the truck “Valdai” was developed, vehicles of the BUSINESS family and NEXT family were manufactured.

Today the competences in development and modernization of the GAZ Group vehicles are concentrated in the United Engineering Center, established on the basis of the engineering service of the GAZ plant. All new projects are conducted based on a modern system of product planning and development PPDS (Product planning and development system), which allows organizing the process so that at each stage consumers’ requests, quality requirements and cost limits were taken into account to the maximum.

The center’s own powerful computer center, modern equipment of prototyping and testing significantly accelerate development of new models. Among the latest equipment installed in the United Engineering Center in recent years: a stamping press Quintus FlexForm, a new painting and assembly complex, a five-axis high-speed machine Mecof Dynamill, industrial 3D-printers, and a gas analysis complex. Own proving ground with different types of road pavement and a noise-measuring site allows comprehensive testing of a vehicle on main certification parameters. Lately the GAZ Group has invested more than 800 million rubles in supplying the design center with modern equipment and software.

The latest development of the United Engineering Center - a family of light and medium commercial vehicles NEXT - combines modern technical solutions, the lowest cost of ownership in its class, a high level of functionality, comfort, safety and reliability. Just one year after the start of sales, GAZelle NEXT became the most popular model of light commercial vehicles in the Russian market.