In 1938, in Ukraine, in the Poltava region, on the outskirts of the city of Kremenchug, the construction of an aircraft plant began. Construction work could not be completed because the Second World War began. From 1941 to 1945, the buildings that were built were practically destroyed by air bombing. The post-war country was in a state of extreme devastation. The issue of resumption of transport links between cities and the construction of bridges was very pressing.
The history of KrAZ began in the spring of 45, when a group of Glavmosstroy specialists arrived. Their goal was to find a place for the construction of a bridge structures plant, and they chose an unfinished aircraft plant. Construction began in early 1946, and within 12 months it was put into operation. Over the next eight years, more than 600 bridge structures were manufactured and installed throughout the country.
Period 1950-1960
By the mid-fifties, the country had risen from the ruins, and agriculture was actively developing. There is an urgent need for combines and other equipment. Therefore, the bridge plant is being reorganized into a combine plant. In just 2 months, by June 1956, 10 combines were produced. The plant existed for 2 years, during which time more than 15,000 units of combines were produced.
The history of the plant dates back to 1958, when a resolution of the Council of Ministers was issued on the transfer of the Yaroslavl automobile enterprise to the site of the plant in Kremenchug. In a very short time (10 months), workers changed the equipment of the workshops, and new production capacities were introduced. It is worth noting that the most modern automotive technologies at that time were used. And already in the spring of 1959 the plant was launched.
In the same year, the first two domestic trucks were produced. This is the KrAZ-22 Dnepr, which had a carrying capacity of 10 tons. The first models were assembled by hand by workers, and soon an automatic conveyor with a total length of almost 260 m was launched. Within 12 months, the plant began producing cars abroad for export.
1963 The world saw more than 25,000 KrAZ vehicles.
1969. Development and launch into mass production of an all-terrain vehicle, which with a clear conscience can be called legendary, the KrAZ-255. The development was highly appreciated, the enterprise itself was awarded a First Class Diploma, and a group of workers were nominated for state awards. This model was produced for 30 years. During this time, it was tested three times according to the highest quality category of the USSR.
KrAZ on the run: the largest Ukrainian automobile plant wants to move to Russia
Kremenchug Automobile has been the largest automotive manufacturer in Ukraine for many decades. The company was founded back in 1945 and since then has experienced a lot, including changes in management, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the harsh 90s and even multiple economic crises. Who would have thought that the plant would ultimately be undermined by the policies of the current Ukrainian government and personally by the country’s President Petro Poroshenko.
all-terrain vehicle-snow and swamp vehicle.rf
According to a number of media reports, the Kremenchug Automobile Plant is now experiencing serious financial difficulties. This is primarily due to the general Ukrainian economic crisis. In the country now, no one simply has money, which means there is practically no one to sell their products to KrAZ. In addition, the development and creation of new truck models, which is extremely necessary in a market economy, also requires serious financial investments, which KrAZ cannot afford now.
It is not surprising that the latest “new products” of the automobile plant are little impressive and cannot even come close to comparing, for example, with Russian KAMAZ vehicles. It is also indicative that within Ukraine itself, as it turned out, businessmen and even state-owned companies, even if they are ready to fork out money for new trucks, prefer to buy Russian-made trucks rather than Ukrainian ones.
In connection with such a difficult situation, the management of KrAZ thought about transferring production not just anywhere, but to Russia. One way or another, the Russian Federation is a huge sales market, and traditional for Ukraine, because our countries have been cooperating in the field of industry and trade for more than one decade.
kremenchug-sity.narod.ru
In Ukraine now there is simply no one to sell trucks, and the general situation in the country leaves much to be desired. So KrAZ is counting on trying its luck in Russia. Of course, they plan to transfer only part of the production at first to see how things go. And this is also the right decision, because in Russia it will be extremely difficult for them to compete with KAMAZ.
The Russian one is constantly modernizing production, regularly releasing new modern machines, and has long established itself well both within the country and abroad. Whether the impoverished KrAZ will be able to compete with such a giant is a big question.
zn.ua
However, in any case, the situation itself is very sad. The current Ukrainian authorities have brought the country to such a decline that both individual citizens and entire enterprises are fleeing en masse. Over the past year, many large Ukrainian companies have already announced that they simply will not survive without cooperation with the Russian Federation, and some, like KrAZ now, are trying to transfer production to Russia in order to somehow preserve their business.
The author's opinion may not coincide with the opinion of the editors.
ya-russ.ru
70-80 years
At the beginning of 1970, a new workshop with a total area of 21,000 square meters was launched to increase production capacity. The following year, the Order of Lenin was received for successful results.
By 1972, mass production of models was mastered. It was possible to build KrAZ: 120, 255, 256b, 255 l, 257 B, 258.
1976 An order was issued according to which the AvtoKrAZ Association was created. It included the Kremenchug Automobile Plant itself and five more factories in Ukraine.
A landmark for the history of the plant was the appointment of M.G. Pogostinsky to the position of General Director at the beginning of 1976. Thanks to which computers were introduced for calculating structures, the latest technologies for working with metal were mastered, and the most advanced methods were introduced. A single frame set has been introduced.
The range of parts produced has been significantly reduced. By knurling on the working surface, wear resistance was increased. The use of shaving of axle gearboxes began. The hinges and brackets of the gearbox were eliminated. Enamel, which is extremely resistant to environmental influences, began to be used in painting. Already in the 1st quarter of 1978, six cars were produced, which had 28 modifications. Products were supplied to all republics of the USSR and many countries of the world.
1979 is indicative for the history of the plant. The highest output of automobile production per 1 person working at the enterprise has been achieved. This figure was a record and has not been achieved by any plant in the Soviet Union.
The KRAZ 260 line was also put into production, which featured an all-metal cab, frame, transmission and axles.
1980. The plant received the Order of Friendship of the Peoples of Vietnam. In November, innovations were made to the design of the gears of the main drive axles. As a result, the strength increased significantly and the average wear time was increased.
1981. Update and improvement. 5 complexes of mechanical and automatic lines were launched. A little later, innovative design and technological measures began to be introduced, a transition to low-carbon steel was made, and overall metal consumption decreased. 500 thousand cars were produced.
1986 Almost 40,000 cars produced. The highest figure in the history of existence. The plant is ahead of all well-known automobile manufacturers in the world. It occupies a leading position and is considered the largest manufacturer of heavy vehicles in Europe. The total number of workers at the enterprise is almost 20,000 people. Cars are in demand all over the world and are supplied to 60 countries.
Bankrupt KrAZ: will it survive or not?
Ukraine risks losing its only national truck manufacturer. The famous KrAZ from Kremenchug is going through very difficult times, and there is no bright spot in sight. And the trends are not good: Lviv LAZ buses have not been produced for a long time (and the plant itself does not exist), Zaporozhye ZAZs too...
New KrAZ trucks look like trucks from the nineties, but with a QR code on the cab
Judging by the news on the company’s website, deliveries are underway: in January, truck cranes were sent to the Poltava region, Ukrnafta will receive a batch of tanks, several tanks with a cabover cab have also been built (these cabins, which are supplied by Qixing from China, resemble the old MANs), and are gradually being produced and army vehicles.
This is also a KrAZ, but with a Chinese cab “I want to be a MAN”
But the social and financial news from Kremenchug is disappointing. The company is bankrupt, employee salary debts amounted to 19 million hryvnia (that’s 48 million rubles), debt to the pension fund is another 9.6 million hryvnia. The company paid wages for September only at the beginning of December! Moreover, on average, people received three thousand hryvnia (7,600 rubles) due to the fact that the plant worked for only 12 days in a month. Recently, the mayor of Kremenchuk mentioned that KrAZ operates two days a week...
Now the city authorities are trying to sue the high-rise dormitory from KrAZ: electricity and heat are regularly turned off in the building for debts - and due to the dampness, judging by the collective letter from the car plant workers, fleas have taken up residence in the building. In November, the heating was turned off even in the factory clinic. It is clear that in such a situation it is pointless to demand that workers create high-quality cars, but it is very bad with orders.
But there were other times: the plant worked non-stop, one after another new models and modifications were created - both with its own fiberglass hood, and with various exotic cabs, including a cab from the Renault Kerax model.
Experienced KrAZ with Renault Kerax cab
But all of them either remained in single copies or were produced in small batches, and the basis of the range from year to year was made up of trucks with the same long-outdated “nosy” cab of the seventies model: it is slightly younger than the KAMAZ one.
This photo was taken in 2014, when supplies were being delivered to the Egyptian army.
When the military conflict broke out in eastern Ukraine, one of the local news publications wrote: “The war in Donbass provided KrAZ with the largest government order in history.” Inspired Krasovites offered the military one model after another, including armored cars: they began to make them with the help of the Streit Group company, headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, which is owned by Russian emigrant German Gutorov. But the euphoria soon turned into disappointment: the active phase of hostilities in the Donbass gave way to confrontation, there was almost no loss of equipment, and orders from the Ukrainian Armed Forces generally dried up.
Looks menacing, but won’t save the financial situation: KrAZ Fiona armored car
In 2022, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine purchased only 59 KrAZ vehicles, and as of October 2019, none, since priority is given to Belarusian MAZ-6317 (they are assembled under its own brand by the company Bogdan from Cherkassy). As Krazovites point out, in the latest tender for Ukroboronprom in the amount of 22 million hryvnia, it is openly stated that the chassis should be from the Minsk Automobile Plant.
Ukrainian military prefer MAZs assembled under the Bogdan brand
Even Kremenchug itself is abandoning its own equipment: in January, the city received two garbage trucks and snow blowers (and such hybrids exist due to lack of funds!) - Chinese Dayun and Belarusian MAZ, and KrAZ was not considered in the tender at all due to bankruptcy, and The antimonopoly commission rejected his complaint.
Utility KrAZ trucks turned out to be unnecessary for their city
By the way, approximately 65 out of 80 municipal vehicles in Kremenchug require replacement, since they have been in operation since the eighties of the last century. It seems that the situation is the same with fire trucks: when a few years ago fire extinguishing exercises were held at KrAZ, a Soviet tank truck based on the ZIL-130 arrived there. It’s funny that some time ago the Krazovites offered “pozharki” under their own brand - but with a cab, again from MAZ! The explanation was simple: the firefighters needed a two-row cabover cab, but the plant didn’t have one.
This is not a MAZ firefighter, but a KrAZ with a MAZ cab
By the way, the utility MAZs delivered to Kremenchug are equipped with engines from the Russian YaMZ plant, which is on the Ukrainian sanctions list (although MAZ-Bogdan is equipped with Chinese Weichai). To the question of Ukrainian journalists: “How can this be?” - Representatives of the supplier company replied that they were not offering a Russian product, but a Belarusian one, and what kind of motors were there was the tenth thing.
And in general, MAZs sell well in Ukraine: according to the Auto-Consulting agency, the brand is in the lead by a wide margin - and over 800 of these vehicles were sold last year. KrAZ itself sold only 193 trucks on the Ukrainian market last year, compared to 259 in 2018. It got to the point that, having spotted a batch of new KrAZ trucks on the streets of their city, local journalists publish a note about this event with a rhetorical question: where did the equipment go?
Truck crane from latest deliveries
In a recent conversation with journalists, plant director Roman Chernyak complained about corruption: tenders are registered for other suppliers and with clearly inflated amounts. “There is chaos, corruption, lawlessness on the Ukrainian market... There is no understanding with military orders... Therefore, we are focusing on the Western and other markets: we have an assembly project in Nigeria - this is how we plan to get out and work.” Chernyak got excited: the West doesn’t need primitive KrAZ trucks, especially with a cabin whose design was stolen from MAN. But will Nigerians save the Ukrainian truck industry?
