MINSK, 10 December (BelTA) – The production of counterfeit parts for trucks made by the Belarusian automobile engineering company BelAZ has been stopped in the town of Belovo, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, BelAZ representatives told BelTA.
Enterprising individuals bought used parts and entire aggregates of BelAZ trucks from scrapyards. The parts were then machined and painted. The refurbished parts were stamped to indicate they are new.
The scam threatened the safe operation of BelAZ vehicles. Specialists concluded that “the refurbished parts” cannot handle routine stress levels. The use of these parts may have resulted in serious problems for indiscriminate customers ranging from simple truck downtime to industrial accidents.
The scam was revealed thanks to tight cooperation of law enforcement agencies and the official regional distributor OOO BelAZ-24. Representatives of the official manufacturer also helped examine the counterfeit parts.
The public joint-stock company (OAO) BelAZ is the managing company of the holding company BelAZ. BelAZ is the world's leading manufacturer of haul trucks and transport equipment for mining industry and civil engineering industry. The company occupies about 30% of the world's market of haul trucks with an extremely large carrying capacity. The company also makes the world's largest truck with the carrying capacity of 450 tonnes.
