People and machines with a character of steel

AMKODOR-KEZ JSC in Tolochin District is creating innovative bulldozers with a high degree of localisation

The state is always ready to support promising developments by domestic manufacturers, especially when it comes to innovative, import-substituting products with high export potential. Mechanical engineering is a domain where Belarusians maintain a high standard both in the domestic and foreign markets. Hence the President’s attention to AMKODOR, the state strategy for the recovery of the holding, and support for the most significant and relevant investment projects. One of such projects of the industrial giant, which received the green light, is currently being implemented by AMKODOR-KEZ JSC in Vitebsk Region. Our correspondents have seen how trailblazing bulldozers — which are awaited even in countries far afield — are being created in the Belarusian hinterland.

Mechanical assembler Aleksandr Gordey

Belarusian landmark

For many years, excavators have been produced in the urban settlement of Kokhanovo, Tolochin District, to meet the needs of land reclamation organisations in Belarus and a number of other countries.
Today, AMKODOR-KEZ is still working on creating production facilities for innovative 20-tonne bulldozers as part of an investment project. Due to geopolitics, it became necessary to find a worthy alternative to European components. And they found it! As a result, the holding’s development received financial support from the regional and republican innovation fund. The project is nearing completion and opens up new opportunities for the enterprise.
All employees at the enterprise, including the design and technological department, are constantly working on improving production. Engineer technologist Yelena Skrygan shared how the new Belarusian bulldozer was created, “We installed a power unit from the Minsk Motor Plant and developed our own software. As a result, the localisation of bulldozer production reached 85 percent. But, as they say, there is no limit to perfection. Moreover, the President is aiming for 100 percent. It is important to me that my native enterprise develops and that my son, who joined it in August according to mandatory work placement, stays to live and work in our settlement, while having the opportunity to realise himself in his chosen profession and receive a decent salary.”

   

With laser precision

The technological production chain for every machine at the Kokhanovo-based plant now begins not with Soviet-era guillotine metal shears, but with a powerful laser installation — purchased as part of the investment project. Operator Dmitry Morozov tasks the smart, large machine using software control and has no doubt about its execution, “It cuts out the necessary parts with an accuracy of up to 0.1 millimetres. These blanks no longer require milling. The cutting speed of thin metals reaches 30 metres per minute. All this increases productivity at least threefold, and this is far from the equipment’s full potential.”

Look across the Atlantic

Automation does not negate the need for qualified personnel. Around 20 new employees join the enterprise every year. As part of the project implementation, five additional jobs have been created this year, and even more ‘hands’ will be needed with the expansion of production volumes, especially welders and fitters — such professionals in mechanical engineering are worth their weight in gold. To retain sought-after personnel, AMKODOR-KEZ is constantly enhancing not only production and conditions in the workshops, but also the social package.
As noted at the enterprise, the bulldozer production project is not yet complete, but the domestic innovation is already in demand. With the development of Belarusian–Nicaraguan relations, the management company has concluded contracts for the supply of more than fifty Kokhanovo bulldozers, five of which are planned to be shipped by the end of the year. This is a completely new and promising market for AMKODOR-KEZ. 

    

DIRECT SPEECH

Aleksandr Kozlov, Director at AMKODOR-KEZ JSC,
“Innovative activity requires substantial financial investment, but it is an investment in the future, especially if we stick to our course of import substitution and export-oriented development. The funds recently allocated to us from the regional budget are focused on what is most critical for us — developing our blank and welding production, which will help us step up capacity and expand the range of products we manufacture. Thanks to the introduction of new equipment, we intend to reach five bulldozer units per month by the end of the year, without reducing production capacity for excavators.
Looking ahead to the development of the machine production line, trials are already underway on prototypes of 25-tonne bulldozers and excavators, which are scheduled to enter mass production in 2026–2027. Our established partners are already showing interest in this machinery.”

By Natalya Ryzhkova

Photos by Anton Stepanishchev