MINSK, 14 February (BelTA) - Among the priority tasks facing the Belarusian tire manufacturer Belshina is import substitution, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Parkhomchik said during a visit to Bobruisk-based company, BelTA has learned.
The deputy prime minister examined the state of affairs at Belshina, toured the workshops producing extra-large tires, and also held a meeting with the participation of senior officials Belneftekhim Concern and the enterprise. According to him, among the priority tasks facing Belshina is to replace imports. "The company directly cooperates with the Belarusian industry flagships such as BelAZ, MAZ, MTZ, Gomselmash and, accordingly, concentrates its efforts on refreshing the range of products, trying to quickly respond to customer requests. In this way, tires are made in accordance with the growing product portfolios of business partners. At the same time, Belshina’s import substitution program takes into account both the company's own economic interests and the interests of component manufacturers,” Piotr Parkhomchik said.
Sergei Kayushnikov, the head of the Research and Production Center at Belshina, noted that the development and production of a tire is a long and laborious process that requires R&D and involvement of a large number of specialists and laboratory equipment. "The tire contains about 20-30 rubber compounds. Every formulation, in turn, includes up to 18 components. Every manufacturer, including Belshina, has its own," he stressed.
Belshina enlists the help of scientists from the National Academy of Sciences, Belarusian State University of Transport, Belarusian National Technical University and Belarusian State Technological University, a long-standing business partner of the enterprise. With the opening of a tire laboratory at Belshina and the purchase of unique equipment for it, most of the joint R&D received a new impetus. In particular, the developments carried out by manufacturers and scientists over the past year or two, have made it possible to commission tires with a reduced rolling resistance coefficient, increased grip on wet roads and improved mileage. Plans are in place to improve the previous ties and release new standard sizes of agricultural tires and increase the performance characteristics of extra-large tires.
"At the meeting, the parties outlined a list of priority issues that need to be solved first thing," said Vladimir Chertok, First Deputy Director General - Chief Engineer at Belshina. “In particular, we are now focusing on increasing the mileage of extra-large tires. We also need to continue outfitting the tire laboratory. Increased requirements for the quality of products, new production technologies, complexity of the equipment used necessitate solving many engineering problems. Belshina is up to this task. Its specialists are capable of not only generating ideas but are result-oriented.”
In order to expand its market presence and increase the output, Belshina will continue to modernize its production capacities.
