When Belarusians think of something they have accomplished in industry most likely they
think about their auto industry, and primarily Minsk Automobile Plant - MAZ. Depicted of
the left is a Belarusian concept track - MAZ-Perestroika.
Indeed we could be proud of our machines that are working in all corners of former USSR -
deserts of Middle Asia, polar tundra, Siberian taiga, quarries of Urals and many countries
of the world.
German Man is routinely cooperating with MAZ. Ford has already built
a plant in Belarus acknowledging our successes in automobile manufacturing.. Czech
"Skoda" followed them.. GM is considering Belarus too. Below are the links to
major Belarusian automobile enterprises.
Minsk Automobile Plant - MAZ
Official website of MAZ
One more MAZ page
MAZ manufactures trailer tracks, dump trucks, trucks for transporting logs and pipes and lately even passenger busses. This is a flagship of Belarusian industry. During the soviet times it was known for using the most sophisticated high tech of soviet auto industry. Let's hope they still got it.
Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant - MZKT
Official website of MZKT
This is a former military part of MAZ, which is manufacturing tractors for Russian mobile ballistic rockets. But MZKT also has converted its products into civil heavy duty all terrain tractors. When one of MZKT tractors was photographed in 1997 by US satellite in China a scandal broke out. I've heard that Chinese have actually reverse engineered MZKT tractor. Only after that they have presented MZKT guys with a choice - either earn money and assist in construction of the plant in China or stay completely away, while Chinese would manufacture MZKT clone anyway. From what I understand reading the news later on - MZKT decided to assist China in construction of the plant. This plant would manufacture the tracks similar to MZKT. I understand that Chinese had also acquired recently the missile flight stabilization technology from two American companies (Lockheed and someone else). Well, all I can say is that when American, German, French and Swiss companies are proliferating nuclear arms technology - Belarus is much poorer than these countries to have higher moral standards.
Belarusian
Automobile Plant - BelAZ
Official website of BelAZ
The product of BelAZ are haul dump trucks designed specifically for mining in an open quarries. The depicted track can move 143 ton of soil.
Mahilyow Automobile Plant - MoAZ
Official website of MoAZ
One more MoAZ site
MoAZ specializes in highway construction machines and some agricultural machines, too.
"Minsk" Motovelo Works
Some info on
the "Minsk" motorcycles that we collected on the web
Other related companies
- Asipovichy plant of auto parts
- Babrujsk AO "TAiM"- auto parts
- "Maria" - foreign car dealership in Vitebsk
- Belarusian Auto Federation
- Russia Auto in the Central Europe Automotive Report - CEAR.COM
- Kolesnitsa - heavy trailers converted from military designs.
- Bolter - largest Belarusian tire company supplying most of our auto industry.
In case you are wondering why all the plants abbreviations end with AZ it stands for Auto Zavod - Auto Plant ;)
VG to Belarus 