Belshina: Growth Through Investment

The Republic of Belarus has experienced robust economic growth in recent years, with the latest figures showing a growth in GDP of nearly seven per cent. The economy is highly industrialised, with exports playing a crucial part in the growth in prosperity. One of the largest enterprises in Belarus – indeed, one of the largest in Europe – is the Belshina Open Joint-Stock Company. The tyre manufacturer operates three factories, covering an area of 173.6 hectares and employs around 12,000 staff, producing more than 200 sizes and types of tyre, from passenger car up to giant tyres for mining and construction machinery.

Belshina sells tyres on both the replacement and OE markets, having a number of OE contracts with local and foreign vehicle manufacturers across all sectors. (Valtra, Brazil – tractor manufacturer; Terex Equipment Ltd., Scotland – mining and construction machinery manufacturer; Belaz, Belarus – mining machinery; MAZ, Belarus – trucks, KAMAZ, Russia – trucks; MTZ, Belarus – tractors).

90 per cent of production is radial tyres and Belshina reflects the national trend towards developing export business, trading with no fewer than 54 countries. Belshina OJSC is currently building a trading chain worldwide; the trading house “Beltyre”, Lithuania was opened in April 2007. In the near future, other trading houses will be opened in Singapore and R.S.A. Trading houses have also been opened almost in almost every region of Russia and the CIS countries. The aim of establishing trading houses worldwide is not only to increase sales, but also to build after-sales product support systems in these regions.

Russia and the CIS countries account for a large slice of the export business, but Belshina also sells tyres in the rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North and South America.

In the first four months of this year, production volume increased by 29.4 per cent compared with the same period last year, while sales volumes increased by 28 per cent, with exports growing by 18 per cent. During this period, 39.3 percent (by volume) of sales were made on the domestic market, Russia accounted for 24.4 per cent, other CIS countries 11.7 per cent and other foreign countries 24.6 per cent.

History

Belshina is a comparatively new player among tyre manufacturers, with construction of the first tyre factory beginning in September 1965. The first Belarusian tyre (which was for a 27-ton dump truck) was produced on the last day of 1971, at the experimental bay of the factory. One year later, what is known as the Large Size Tyre Works was commissioned. In December 1976, the second factory (Car and Truck Tyre Works) began operation and, in January 1985, the Super-Large Size Tyre factory was commissioned.

The names of these factories are indicative of the products made in each; the Large Size Tyres plant produces tyres for dump trucks, road and construction vehicles, agricultural vehicles and tractors. This last sector is important; despite the industrialisation of the Belarusian economy, agriculture is estimated to account for 14 per cent of the labour force and just over 11 per cent of GDP.

The Car and Truck Tyre factory, unsurprisingly, produces tyres for cars, light trucks, heavy trucks and buses. They are fitted to such locally-produced marques such as VAZ, Moscvitch and Volga as well as in sizes to fit foreign-made vehicles.

The third factory is where the super-heavyweight tyres are produced – tyres for giant dump trucks and heavy-duty mining equipment.

Whatever the size of tyre manufactured, Belshina’s objectives remain the same; to produce high quality products (the company has won numerous domestic and international awards for product quality) and to continually monitor and expand the range of products offered to meet customers’ changing demands. Belshina’s quality management system is certified to comply with DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 standard of the German TGA accreditation system. “Belshina” JSC is the first tyre company in the CIS countries to be affiliated as a full member of E.T.R.T.O. – The European Tire and Rim Technical Organization;

Wide Product Range

Having said that Belshina plans to expand its range, the product offering is already extensive. Tyres for heavy-duty dump trucks are available in a number of tread patterns, in both tube and tubeless types and range from tyres to fit 21 ton dump trucks up to a 40.00-57 60-ply tyre designed for 220-ton trucks. The latest tyre to be added to the range was 46/90-57 68-ply.

The range for road-building and industrial machines is even wider, with more than 30 sizes and patterns, to fit a wide variety of vehicles, including self-propelled cranes, bulldozers, front loaders, scrapers and fork lifts, among others. Some of the tyres in this sector are solid superelastic, rather than pneumatic.

Earlier, we mentioned the importance of agriculture to the Belarusian economy and this is reflected in the range of tyres for agricultural machines and tractors, which is comprised of close on 50 patterns and sizes. Tyres are available for tractors (front and rear), combine harvesters, row crop, agricultural trailers, mowers and threshers. Tractor tyres are available for rims up to 38″ and a recent addition to the range is the low profile 520/70 R38.

For trucks and buses, there are 24 different types of tyre, offering patterns to suit highway, off-road and mixed applications, many available in popular 20″ and 22.5″ rim sizes, plus a number of super single sizes. Three of the latest sizes are 275/70 R22.5 and 295/80 R22.5 (both highway pattern) and the 12.00 R20, with a universal tread pattern.

The final product group is that of tyres for passenger cars and light trucks, which consists of 35 different patterns and sizes, for rims from 13″ to 16″ and with speed rating indices up to H. These are designed for fitment to a wide variety of domestic and imported vehicles.

When talking about products, it is appropriate to mention another company in the Belshina group, Shiniremont OJSC, which is the largest retreader and repairer of truck tyres in Belarus, operating both hot cure and cold cure processes. Like almost every other country, Belarus recognises that scrap tyres are a growing problem, plus there is a scarcity of raw materials. By retreading tyres wherever possible, Shiniremont saves valuable resources (it estimates 76 kg of oil per truck tyre), plus it offers customers genuine savings, as the cost of a remoulded radial is around 55 per cent of the cost of a new tyre. Shiniremont retreads are sold on the aftermarket only.

Looking Ahead

If recent years have been a time of growth for Belshina, the immediate future looks set to continue this trend as the company implements its investment programme for long-term development. This entails an investment in the years from 2005 to 2010 of over 160 million euros in a number of modernisation and expansion projects.

Part of the programme aims to introduce all steel radials for mining machinery by re-equipping the OTR tyre line. The following tyre-sizes will be available for sale by the beginning of the next year; 33.00R51, 24.00R35 and 21.00R35. For smaller tyres, there are plans to install 64 new curing presses in Curing Dept. 1 of the Car and Truck Tyre plant and further plans to modernise Curing Dept. 2 at the same factory in order to accommodate the manufacture of a new generation of car tyres.

By investing in new plant and equipment and designing new products to cater for a rapidly-changing market, Belshina plans to consolidate its place in the international tyre market and to continue to increase its market share.