First BELAZ service centre opened in Murmansk Region

"Our new corporate centre is the first is the Northwestern Federal District and the twelfth in Russia. Its focus is ensuring fast and high quality service for BELAZ quarry vehicles, thus improving their performance for Murmansk mining companies,” informed the press centre.

BELAZ has been present in that region of Russia for a while, with decades of successful vehicle operation under its belt, said BELAZ Director General Sergei Lesin at the opening ceremony.

“There are about 300 BELAZ vehicles operating in Murmansk Region now. Even the most reliable and high quality machinery needs regular, top level, fast service. Our first priorities are to ensure full satisfaction of our customers and to improve operational performance of our vehicles. We are going to continue and expand our partnership with Murmansk Region,” emphasises Mr. Lesin.

The new BELAZ service centre in Apatity occupies 1,700 square metres and features cutting edge diagnostic equipment. The facility includes a production shop, office spaces, and warehouses for components, parts, and lubricants. On top of providing fast, top quality maintenance and repairs for high-powered quarry vehicles, its staff is also capable of modernizing them according to BELAZ’ design documents.

“This is a major event for us. BELAZ products take up over 50 percent of our vehicle pool. This centre will improve performance for our dump trucks and support vehicles. I congratulate our partners and wish them successful, productive work,” quotes the BELAZ press centre the words of Olcon CEO Nikolay Seleznyov.

Director of Apatit JSC, Kirovsk Branch, Andrey Abrashitov, in turn, reminded that the first BELAZ trucks came to his company back in 1967. Their carrying capacity then was 27 tonnes.

“Both the open pit mining volumes and the carrying capacity of your trucks have only been going up since then. In 2019, Apatit got its first 180 tonnes vehicles. The contract for 7 more trucks has already been signed; those machines are capable of carrying 220 tonnes each, the first of their kind at out company,” said Mr. Abrashitov.

The new maintenance and service centre in Murmansk Region is a vital strategic step for BELAZ, summarised the press centre. It will push forward both quarry equipment service and the general state of the local mining industry, creating sustainable growth conditions for all parties involved.

BELAZ JSC – Management Company of BELAZ-HOLDING specialises in the development, production, and marketing of large and extra large-capacity dump trucks, special and specialised vehicles, as well as other heavy transport equipment used in mining, construction, metallurgical, and other industries. The holding includes 8 enterprises. The company owns 30 percent of the global market for heavy-duty dump trucks.