Penza and Belarusian machine tool builders will join forces to create the Soyuz Machine

Russia and Belarus intend to join forces to create new industrial equipment that can replace foreign analogues. We are talking about the Soyuzny Lathe project, which involves the use of exclusively Russian and Belarusian components. The first negotiations on its implementation took place in Penza.

The local machine tool factory was visited by the General Director of the Belarusian plant Valery Shchurok. During the visit, he was shown production workshops and manufactured equipment - from simple lathes to high-precision machining centers.

The main issue to be decided by the parties is the choice of a specific machine model for joint production. As noted by the General Director of Penza enterprise Oleg Kochetkov in the program “Modern machine tool building in Russia”, while the partners are not ready for the full exchange of technical information and the combination of components. According to him, now it is necessary to determine the model of equipment, the production of which enterprises have not yet mastered and which can be created by joint efforts.

Potential partners have their own production advantages. The Belarusian enterprise produces three- and five-axis machining centers, and the Penza plant has opportunities in the field of casting and machining.

Valery Shchurok said that over the past month, representatives of enterprises have met three times. According to him, cooperation is developing quite quickly, and during his visit to Penza, he was able to see production facilities, which the parties agreed on earlier.

During the talks, differences in the requirements for localization of production and measures of state support were also discussed. In particular, Russian legislation provides for the need to organize its own casting, while the Belarusian company purchases it from third-party suppliers.

“By buying Russian CNCs, ball screw pairs, guides, we have support from Russian manufacturers up to 50% of compensation from the cost,” said Valery Shchurok.

A separate topic was the training of personnel for the machine tool industry. The Belarusian company actively works with young people, and the average age of employees is 38 years. At the same time, as Valery Shchurok noted, one of the main tasks remains the development of its own design school. If the specialists mastered the assembly of equipment and reverse engineering quickly enough, the creation of their own complex developments requires additional competencies.

Penza machine tool builders, in turn, told about their experience in training future specialists. For six years now, the basic department of Metal cutting machines of Penza State University has been operating at the enterprise. Students undergo practical training directly in production, and experienced employees of the plant act as mentors and participate in joint projects.

Oleg Kochetkov stressed that it is important for enterprises to independently train young specialists, since this approach allows attracting talented personnel to the industry.

The next stage of cooperation will be the visit of the Russian delegation to Belarus. Penza specialists will get acquainted with the production capabilities of the partners, after which the parties will be able to determine the future model of the Soyuz Machine and the technical solutions necessary for its creation.

The development of joint equipment is considered as one of the steps to reduce the dependence of the Russian and Belarusian industries on foreign suppliers. At the same time, the project is still under discussion, and the cooperation participants have yet to choose a specific model of the machine.