New production of drivelines started in Russia
On the 1st decade of August, commercial assembly of mechanical transmissions for 2000 series tractors started at the Rostselmash industrial site. “The first commercial transmission has been assembled,” declared Maksim Nakhabo, Marketing Director.
Thus, Rostselmash has implemented one of the strategical business projects of great importance for both the company and the industry in general. Drivelines are considered the most complex assemblies, that is why their components are generally purchased abroad or manufactured at joint ventures with involvement of foreign capital. Now, the required competencies are available in Russia. For that, Rostselmash invests 4 billion roubles.
The design capacity of the new unit permits to manufacture 5 transmissions per shift, completely meeting the company’s need for component parts for 2000 series tractors.
Rostselmash manufactures the drivelines within the framework of development of the tractor production and implementation of the import substitution program, as required by Federal Decree No. 719.
The company declared its intention in late 2018 after signing the agreement with its long-time supplier, the driveline manufacturer OKUBO GEAR Co., LTD. Now, transmissions will be exclusively manufactured, including processing of cast housings and complex machining (fabrication of gears, shafts), at Russian sites being the part of the company and other Russian manufacturers, with further deepening of localization up to completely local production.
Within the business project, the company bought out the engineering and design documentation from the Japanese partner, performed global adjustment of internal production processes and strengthening of capacities. A team of specialists visited Japan and the OKUBO factory to study the technology and to adopt the practices of manufacturing and assembly, bench testing of tractor transmissions and axle drives. Rostselmash also carried out a series of test assemblies. The entire transfer of new technologies was supervised by the Japanese partners who confirmed that Rostselmash is completely ready for commercial manufacturing.
It took Rostselmash a little bit over one and a half years to create a full-fledged production of drivelines. Mr. Nakhabo notices that only the first stage of the business project has been implemented yet. The commercial assembly of differentials for 3000 series tractors is planned to begin in October. Along with the launch of the assembly production, the plant went ahead with the project of gear production, which should start working before the end of 2022. The engineering company management visited Rostselmash recently, and the parties discussed the general aspects of the future production.
