OREANDA-NEWS. November 02, 2011. OJSC KAMAZ’s subsidiaries and joint ventures set up with foreign automakers continue to actively introduce new technologies in production processes that can significantly improve the quality of units and components.

KAMAZ-Metallurgy OJSC is constantly improving the product quality with the help of new technologies. The use of new fluxes reducing pore formation in casts enabled to eliminate internal and external defects when casting cylinder heads. To date, the foundry began to develop nano-additives modifying alloy cast iron. This work is conducted jointly with RUSNANO.

In addition, KAMAZ-Metallurgy OJSC introduced and implemented one of the company’s largest kaizen projects: a die casting department was moved from the forge plant to a precision steel casting shop. This step made it possible to save money and optimize energy resources which were used to light and heat empty industrial areas of the foundry. To date, the forge plant doesn’t have to document a license for non-core production by order of Gostekhnadzor of the RF. This license should be documented every five years, and it costs 20 million roubles. This year, the company also plans to save 96 million rubles at the expense of the production of the new product range – 17 forged pieces of sparingly alloyed steels for KAMAZ axles.

Due to a technical re-equipment process and the use of a new furnace made by Aichelin, Austria, the engine plant greatly increased the quality of heat treatment of parts, reduced production costs and increased productivity. The enterprise is completing a project to produce transfer cases for all-wheel drive vehicles KAMAZ-6522. The enterprise successfully localized mechanical and heat treatment of details for ZF KAMA JV and CUMMINS KAMA JV. To date, it is not required to analyze products abroad: laboratories of the technological center were recognized complying with requirements of ZF and Cummins companies and received access to production control.

Kama Press and Stamping Plant produced more than 200 items of welding and die tooling for restyling of KAMAZ vehicles. A great amount of preparatory work was done to strengthen the framework of the cab in accordance with ECE 29.02 (specifying requirements on occupant survival space after a front pendulum impact and a roof crush test). Four welding lines were upgraded at the factory, new stamps and additional welding units were made.

The automobile plant implemented a large-scale project "Lighthouse" which started a year ago. Its main objective is to optimize technological processes of the plant introducing standards of the operating system of the German partner Daimler. As a result, labor productivity was increased by 49%, and an economic effect of the project amounted to 629 million rubles already within a period of its realization.