Experienced car lovers may remember a time when Belshina products didn’t enjoy a good reputation. The company offered a small range of tyres and their quality was variable. However, I can personally confirm that the stereotype is now obsolete. In the mid-November snow my car had not been prepared for the winter season, as I had not yet changed my summer tyres, making it risky to drive. I began searching for winter tyres but found nothing by the popular brands. As a result, I had to buy Belshina tyres and have been extremely pleased with them. In the winter, I managed to drive away from almost any bank of snow and even dragged out my friends’ car (with tyres by a globally famous brand).
Since then, I’ve not been sceptical about the Belarusian company’s products and I’m not alone in my views. Belshina is steadily renewing its range and plans to attract new customers. Several years ago, the company launched a major technical modernisation worth hundreds of millions of Euros. It’s aimed at the industrial production of new tyre sizes, the increase of production volumes and enhancement of competitiveness. Although the modernisation is in full swing, it’s clear that a virtually new plant has been created on the site of the old Belshina. It enjoys the same equipment as that used by leaders of the tyre industry and the single difference is the ‘recipe’ of rubber, kept a close secret by the company.
I’ve often seen how tyres for passenger cars and trucks are produced. Each time, the process is mesmerising. An operator places two ‘wings’ of a tyre on a machine, while the remaining parts are produced automatically. As a result, it takes just 47 seconds to make the basic product, which then needs to be vulcanised before the tyre is ready for use. In the future, the production of vehicle tyres with up to 20-inch diameter is planned. As a result, the range of the Bobruisk company will expand so much, that any driver would be able to find the necessary tyres for their cars whether it be a city mini car or a large jeep.
The company’s large tyre workshop has introduced into production, tyres for energy-efficient tractors — both Belarusian and foreign. These new tyres are able to withstand heavy loads while creating less stress on the soil. Belshina products can rival its competitors on the global market and, at present, has virtually fully implemented its international labour division: a part of its larger-sized manufacturing bears the brand of a globally known producer — Trelleborg; the Belarusian company produces tyres for this international group under its own brand. The super-large tyre plant plans to produce tyres for domestic lorries of up to 360 tonne capacity, as well as foreign dump trucks. So far, only two companies in the world manufacture these, Belshina will rival them in the near future.
After a long break, Belshina products are once again supplied to Tolyatti: the Belarusian company has been nominated as a general tyre supplier by AutoVAZ to equip new Lada-Vesta cars. Before signing the contract, the car producer stipulated that Belarusian tyres need to pass tests at a major Spanish testing station to ensure they compete favourably against known brands. Our tyres performed successfully with Bobruisk’s product even better than famous brands in some respects.
Belshina exports around 60 percent of its produce, with Russia being its major buyer at the moment. The company realises that it needs to diversify its market, already conquering Brazil and Australia. Its sales to Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria have risen, and supplies to Germany, Austria and the Scandinavian states have been launched. Indonesia is now among the most promising markets and exports to Turkey have been renewed.
Belshina is injecting huge funds into its modernisation and this strategy is fully paying for itself. Wise investment in technical re-equipment enables the company to occupy its place among the global leaders.
By Pavel Minakov
Photo by BELTA
Photo by BELTA
