Rustam Minnikhanov: ‘For us, KAMAZ is more important because AvtoVAZ has its own dad’

Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov urged the management of the republic’s Ministry of Industry and Trade to look for partners more actively to localise import substituting rubber producers for KAMAZ lorries. Nowadays the plant is experiencing an urgent lack of boots and rubber mounts that aren’t made in Russia.

Rubbers are purchased for 1,5 billion rubles a year, of which imports account for a significant part. Rafinat Yarullin, director general of Tatinvestneftekhim-holding, chairs a task force for import substitution of rubber goods for the mechanical engineering sector.

“Our colleague Mr Karimov (Editor’s note: now vice minister of industry and trade of Russia) is responsible for the automotive industry,” Rustam Minnikhanov reminded the audience.

According to him the one who can localise the production in Tatarstan will get “a good stable business.”

“It is very good to work for the KAMAZ conveyor. We should support the development of SMEs,” the president of the republic assured the public and added that federal assistance could be obtained. Also, he urged them to “move with KAMAZ” again.

“Not only with KAMAZ but also with both AvtoVAZ and other car makers,” Rafinat Yarullin added.

“For us, KAMAZ is more important because AvtoVAZ has its own dad, while KAMAZ is ours,” Rustam Minnikhanov claimed.

It should be reminded that after the start of the special operation, KAMAZ from Chelny was imposed Western sanctions. In mid-March, Rustam Minnikhanov told Russian President Vladimir Putin that mostly a number of mechanical engineering enterprises would suffer in the existing economic conditions, including KAMAZ.

“As for KAMAZ, a production decline can reach 40%. And about 15,000 workers will have to stay idle unless the problem of component supplies is solved,” Minnikhanov said and asked the head of the country to “provide federal support to do this task.”