Wheels of progress: how the famous automobile plant appeared on Kama
On February 16, 1976, the first truck of the Kama Automobile Plant rolled off the assembly line. Since then, KAMAZ vehicles have become known all over the world. Izvestia recalled the history of the plant.
The complex on the Kama
In the second half of the 1960s, the Soviet Union became an energy superpower, preparing to actively enter world markets. Cargo turnover in the country increased, but there was a shortage of new equipment. It was clear that our industry needed a powerful new vehicle—more powerful, reliable, and modern than anything the Soviet industry had at its disposal. In short, a large specialized heavy-duty truck factory was needed.
The production workshop of the Kama Automobile Plant
The decision to build an auto giant in Naberezhnye Chelny was made in the summer of 1969. The proximity of the resource base, the good transport position (although the railway to the city on the Kama River had to be built), and the experience of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in solving major industrial problems were among the reasons. The then head of the republic, Fikrat Tabeev, also played a major role in the fact that Naberezhnye Chelny was chosen for the construction of the auto giant.
Lev Vasiliev, an experienced administrator and former front-line driver, became the first director of the Kama Automobile Plant, which had just begun to be built. Since 1968, he served as Deputy Minister of Automotive Industry of the USSR for Foreign Economic Relations. He retained this high status by heading KAMAZ. Both he and the ministry's leadership understood that the plant simply needed an export direction and active international cooperation. And Vasiliev knew the production thoroughly and had experience in dealing with foreign industrialists and merchants. At that time, KAMAZ needed just such a leader.
Design engineers of the Kama Automobile Plant
On December 13, 1969, when Mikhail Noskov, an excavator operator, took out the first bucket of earth at the industrial site of the future auto giant. The first cubic meters of concrete were laid in the foundation. They built not only a complex of factories. At the same time, a modern multi-storey city was being built, the population of which increased almost tenfold in a few years. We planned new quarters so that it would take a maximum of half an hour to get to the car factory from anywhere. First of all, the work of tens of thousands of people, very young. The average age of the first builders of the complex is 23 years.
It was a project unprecedented in scale and importance for the economy. KAMAZ was built as a unique combination of factories where it was possible to build cars from and to.
Commonwealth of Enterprises
In total, according to the official history of KAMAZ, in addition to two thousand Soviet enterprises, more than 700 foreign companies from 19 countries participated in the project. Representatives of different political systems, solving constructive tasks, easily found a common language as professionals. The USSR paid for all services and technologies in foreign currency and retained all rights to KAMAZ.
Walter Mondale, Vice President of the United States, after visiting Naberezhnye Chelny, concluded: "No one in the United States or Western Europe can build such an enterprise." And it's true. To create a complex like the Kama Bogatyr almost in an open field is an impossible task for almost any economy.
By the way, in 1972 the first university was opened in Naberezhnye Chelny — a branch of the evening department of the Kazan Institute of Civil Engineering. Many builders of the factory and the city studied there, improving their skills. KAMAZ service centers and training centers for drivers and mechanics appeared all over the country.
A gift for the congress
Projects to create a modern Soviet heavy truck were developed at the Zilovsky design bureau even before the founding of KAMAZ. Innovative solutions were used in the design of the Kama heavy trucks: the roomy cabin was located above the engine, and the engine's closed cooling system operated with automatic control. When developing a car, it was necessary to take into account the off-road factor relevant to our country. On February 16, 1976, from the main assembly line (at that time, its commissioning had not yet been completed!) The Naberezhnye Chelny firstborn— an on-board eight-ton KamAZ-5320, has descended. It took only six and a half years to build a complex of factories from scratch, establish the work of thousands of teams and turn Naberezhnye Chelny into a large city convenient for life.
KamAZ-740 diesel engine
The new truck arrived in time for the XXV Congress of the CPSU, which opened in the Moscow Kremlin. On February 24, 1976, four brand-new scarlet cars were parked on Red Square. The first of them was brought to Moscow by Barun, and the last one was "piloted" by Azamatov's brand-new truck. Thousands of people there viewed them as a miracle, with no less delight than the Spasskaya Tower. It was a great idea to arrange the premiere of KAMAZ on the main square of the country.
In his speech at the congress, Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, spoke about the shock construction: "The Kama automobile complex and the new city of Naberezhnye Chelny, which is under construction, meeting the latest achievements of Russian urban planning, is an impressive example of dynamic economic growth, the flourishing abilities and talents of our people. I am deeply convinced that years will pass, but all Soviet people will remember with pride their labor feats on the Kama River." Half a century has passed, and time has confirmed the correctness of these words.
Takeoff time
In Naberezhnye Chelny, they managed to realize all their plans and enter the development trajectory, when every decade the quality and quantity of cars produced at the Kama Automobile Plant were improved.
KAMAZ had already become a favorite of truckers in 1976. A comfortable, comfortable cabin, a powerful engine, high load capacity plus a spectacular design — that was the KAMAZ. The 5320 model was produced until 2001. In the early years of its existence, the plant mastered two more models: the KamAZ‑5511 10-ton dump truck and the KamAZ-5410 tractor truck for operation as part of a 26-ton road train.
The first foreign buyers of KAMAZ trucks were the Poles, who bought Kama heavy trucks already in 1976. Then the products of the Kama factory performed well on all continents: both in the tundra and in the Arabian deserts. KAMAZ trucks are still remembered and loved in dozens of countries today.
It took only a few years for the plant to be fully operational, producing flatbed trucks, dump trucks, and tractor units. In June 1979, the one hundred thousandth KAMAZ was released from the assembly line. Five years later, the plant was already producing 100,000 cars a year, and they were in high demand. By that time, the second stage of the complex with a new assembly line was operational.
Well, the record year was 1988, when 126,855 KAMAZ trucks rolled off the assembly line. At that time, KAMAZ trucks accounted for a third of the entire cargo fleet of the Soviet Union, and transported two thirds of all cargo. The construction of the complex required more than 10 billion rubles of investments. After 8-10 years of assembly line operation, the costs have paid off.
Fifth generation
After the 1990s, many lighthouses of the Soviet engineering industry were in crisis. And KAMAZ was reviving even after the devastating fire, remaining a city-forming enterprise. The KAMAZ-master auto racing team, which has repeatedly won the most prestigious rallies, has also thundered all over the world. Nowadays, Naberezhnye Chelny has mastered the production of fifth-generation KAMAZ trucks, modern in design, filling, and capabilities. In recent years, the plant has also been producing buses. Kamaz self-driving cars are also perceived as a step into the future. In short, as before, KAMAZ is looking to the future.
KAMAZ has become a start in life for thousands of wonderful people — talented engineers, administrators, mechanics. Well, the first car of the Kama auto giant, released half a century ago, has survived to this day. For several decades, the truck worked on the roads of Bashkortostan, and nowadays it can be seen in the factory museum.
The author is the deputy editor—in-chief of the magazine "Historian"
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
