Automotive industry in Russia is constantly evolving. Today in our country there are 16 plants of this specialization. One of the largest engineering enterprises is the Ural Automobile Plant (UralAz), which mainly produces trucks.
When the factory was organized
UralAz has been leading its history since 12/30/1941. It was then that the USSR State Committee of Defense decided to organize a foundry in Motors, a motor enterprise, whose production facilities were evacuated from Moscow from the plant named after Stalin (ZiS). The installation of the equipment of the new plant went directly "from the wheels" literally in the open. At the same time, the factory buildings were being erected. The first workshop of the new enterprise began to function in the spring of 1942. A month after the start-up of the plant, its first products also came out - gearboxes for tanks and engines.
Global transformation
For more than a year, the Miass Motor Plant has been manufacturing only components. However, the country urgently needed cars. Therefore, by order of the same Defense Committee of 02.14.43, the enterprise was transformed into the Ural Automobile Plant named after Stalin (UralZiS). Miass, the old provincial city of gold miners, merchants and artisans, suddenly turned into the Ural capital of heavy machinery.
First truck
For too long, the country did not have to wait for new products of the newly formed enterprise. By May 27, 1944, the conveyor of the enterprise was put into operation, and the first car left it July 8, 1944. 07.20 a whole batch of brand new ZiS-5V went to the front. 09/30/1944 the thousandth car was assembled at the enterprise.
The history of the Ural Automobile Plant is inextricably linked with the Second World War. In the war years, truck trucks were widely used on all fronts and were considered very reliable. With cabs made of wood, without brakes on the front wheels, the famous one and a half trucks along with the Red Army entered Berlin.
The first truck of the enterprise was designed on the basis of a two-axle ZiS-5 four-wheel drive manufactured at the Moscow plant. Especially for front-line conditions, engineers developed its simplified version. The main advantage of the new model, in comparison with the old one, is a more powerful engine. The trucks equipped with it could accelerate 35% faster than the ZiS-5. At the same time, gasoline savings reached 10-16%.
Factory after the war
Since 1947, the Ural Automobile Plant (UralAz), whose history began in the early years of the war, begins to produce trucks whose design includes those components and parts that the front model was not equipped with. First of all, the car is equipped with a body with three hinged sides. Later, all-wheel hydraulic brakes began to be used. The fuel tank of the car moves under the body. In the design of the front-line version, it was located under the seat. After all these changes, the letter “M” (modernized) was added to the name of the completely refitted ZiS-5V.
1956 became one of the most significant in the history of such an enterprise as the Ural Automobile Plant. The photo of the UralZis-355 truck, created this year on the basis of the experimental UralZis-353, presented below, clearly demonstrates its advantages in comparison with previous models. Number 355 was assigned to the car according to its engine index (5555 cm3 at 85 l / s). The new motor of the machine had an improved lubrication system, power supply and a crank mechanism. The main advantages of the ZiS-355 are speed increased to 70 km / h and reduced fuel consumption to 29 liters per 100 km.
Later, even more modern UralZiS-353M and 353A were produced at the plant. Since 1959, the plant began producing Ural cross-country vehicles. Serial production of the Ural-353 began in 1961. ZiS cars left the plant’s conveyor for another five years after that.
Gas Generation Trucks
In parallel with gasoline models, immediately after the war, the Miass Plant began to produce cars of this type. Initially, the enterprise mastered the production of the ZiS-21A model developed at the Moscow factory. To get the gas mixture in this machine used dry chocks. Of course, according to the characteristics of gasoline ZiS, it was significantly inferior. The first gas-generating vehicle could drive at a speed of just 48 km / h. Its carrying capacity was 2.5 tons. Later, other modifications of gas generating vehicles were produced. The last was UralZiS-352.
90s
In 1994, the plant became a joint-stock company and received the name UralAz OJSC. In 1998, the company switched to external management. In 2000, its restructuring was completed with the formation of Ural Automobile Plant OJSC.
Renaming a company
In 2011, UralAz (Ural Automobile Plant), from which more than 1,400 thousand cars had already rolled off by that time, was renamed Ural. The company has become the main one in the holding "Trucks". To date, in addition to him, the group includes URALAZ-Energo OJSC, Saransk dump truck factory OJSC, and Social complex OJSC.
The main customers of the enterprise Ural Automobile Plant (Ural) are the largest oil and gas refining companies: Gazprom LLC, Rosneft Oil Company, TNK-BP, etc. Acquires Ural trucks and the state . Among the customers of this level are the Ministry of Defense of Russia, the Ministry of Emergencies, the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Ural Plant was the first truck manufacturer in the CIS to bring its management system in accordance with the requirements of ISO 9001-2000 and 2008.
Ural trucks today
Today, as in the days of the USSR, the Ural Automobile Plant specializes in the production of mainly trucks. Machines of this brand are reliable, powerful, heavy-duty. They are appreciated both in industry and in agriculture for their ease of maintenance. The main advantage of this brand of equipment is considered to be high traffic, provided by the special design of the drive axles and a well-thought-out system for adjusting the air in the tires.
Ural trucks can be operated under the most severe weather conditions. For example, you can perform production tasks on them at temperatures from -50 to +50 degrees. The advantage of the technology of this famous manufacturer is also that it is designed for garageless storage.
To date, the plant produces four-wheel drive off-road trucks and trucks designed for use on paved roads. Onboard models of this brand are equipped with a berth.
Other products of the enterprise
In addition to trucks, the Ural Automobile Plant produces shift buses, utility vehicles, truck tractors and dump trucks. On the basis of the chassis of this brand, more than 400 types of special equipment are mounted: cranes, tankers, repair shops, fire engines , etc. Buses of this brand in office design are equipped with air conditioning and ventilation. An autonomous heating system is installed in their cabin. Since 2001, the plant has been manufacturing cars with an engine that meets Euro-2 European environmental standards. Especially for the army, the company developed Ural armored vehicles.
The company sells cars manufactured by it through the Sales Department of the holding company “Trucks” and through a wide dealer network organized in all regions of the country.
Company management
Today, one of the largest enterprises in Russia engaged in the production of trucks and special equipment is the Ural Automobile Plant (UralAz). Its director, Viktor Kadylkin, previously headed the Power Units division and the Yaroslavl Motor Plant. In 2013, he replaced V. Corman, who led the Ural Automobile Plant for 9 years (since 2002).