"Hydraulic United Company" LLC is a joint Belarusian-Russian enterprise that began writing its history relatively recently but holds important strategic significance for major industrial players in the engineering sector. The new production association was officially registered on June 5, 2023, and was located on the premises of OAO "Kuzlitmash" in Pinsk. The goal was singular — to launch import-substituting production of variable axial-piston hydraulic pumps.

Under the conditions of the sanctions restrictions introduced in 2022, OAO "BELAZ" — the managing company of the "BELAZ-HOLDING" group — along with other Belarusian manufacturers, faced problems in purchasing foreign components. An analysis of the volume of equipment being produced and already in operation, as well as the needs of related holdings — MTZ, Amkodor, and others — showed that the situation required immediate strategic decisions. The idea of creating a joint enterprise was supported by the Russian leader in the field of power hydraulics — JSC "Pnevmostroymashina," which possesses a full closed production cycle. It was this enterprise that became the technological core of the new project.

The modern hydraulic company in Pinsk needed a young and, at the same time, sufficiently experienced leader who could launch the initiative from scratch and close the critical components gap within a compressed timeframe. The management of BELAZ saw such a manager in the person of Maxim Ershov. At that time, the 33-year-old native of Pinsk had behind him work experience at CJSC "Amkodor-Pinsk," JSC "Nevsky Zavod" in St. Petersburg, and in the group of companies "Sumgait Technological Park" in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

"For me, it was a kind of challenge: whether it would work out or not," says Maxim Olegovich about his path of development. — At first, there were quite a few difficulties, including of a technical nature. Many thanks to the Russian partners, who said: 'We will help you.' And indeed they provided comprehensive support.

"At the time the company was founded, a two-stage strategy was developed and consistently implemented," the director shares details. "At the first stage, assembly production of axial-piston machines was organized on the basis of machine kits supplied from Yekaterinburg. The second stage involved the creation of a full-fledged machining section for the production of housing parts for axial-piston machines. Both stages were completed strictly on schedule. Thus, the joint venture implemented an investment project in a short time, providing a part of the domestic market with a critically important component and significantly reducing the dependence of Belarusian mechanical engineering on imported suppliers of expensive hydraulics.

From Idea to Serial Production

During the conversation, Maxim Yershov gives a tour of the enterprise, whose production base occupies more than 2,700 square meters. And it all started with an office of 10 "squares."

"Today, the company's structure includes a full-fledged production and assembly shop, a section of computer numerically controlled machines, a section of test bench equipment, warehouse facilities and part of the administrative building. More than 20 units of advanced equipment have been purchased and put into operation.

When selecting machines and units, we relied on the experience and advanced machine stock of JSC Pnevmostroymashina and OJSC BELAZ as technological leaders, as well as the criteria of the optimal price-to-quality ratio, taking into account the feedback of leading industrial enterprises," says Maxim Olegovich. And he adds: that at present, full interchangeability of the manufactured products with global brands has been achieved. The enterprise serially produces axial-piston hydraulic pumps with adjustable displacement of the 415th and 425th series of various volumes. These products are a one hundred percent analogue of imported Bosch Rexroth products.

Belarusian products fully cover the needs of BELAZ and are successfully used on dump trucks of various load capacities, front-end loaders, and special-purpose machines.

For the agricultural machinery industry, in particular to meet the needs of OAO "Gomselmash," the production of hydrostatic transmissions has been mastered, including a variable hydraulic pump and a fixed hydraulic motor. The products can be manufactured in various modifications – with different control options, shaft rotation directions, connecting flanges, and the possibility of tandem operation with charge pumps tailored to the individual requirements of the customer.

How they built the team

The core of the company's team has gone through a path of development from scratch – from bare walls to serial production of complex power hydraulics. The first specialists underwent internships and gained invaluable experience directly in Yekaterinburg at the production facilities of AO "Pnevmostroymashina." Among them is Aleksandr Ignatchik, a mechanical assembly fitter:

– I have been working here for more than two years and I am not planning to leave," says the man, who was just checking a hydraulic pump at the test stand. – Everything suits me: the team, the salary, and the production process itself. We produce not just one pump, but several types, and each one needs to be figured out separately, making sure that all parameters of our products strictly comply with the acceptance and delivery testing procedures.

Some came to the company with established work experience at other machinery-building enterprises. Training and advanced qualification courses are regularly organized for employees, maintaining close interaction with specialists from the founding companies.

– We are all universal workers, ready to replace each other at any site," says mechanical assembly fitter Ilya Tyulyakov. – At the moment I work in the assembly shop and can perform the assembly of any product with high quality.

– A noteworthy fact: with the arrival of each new employee, his suggestions for process improvement were considered and implemented. This approach has repeatedly produced a tangible economic effect – operations were optimized and the quality of the final product grew. And this is extremely important, because in connection with the growing production volumes and new development plans, a significant staff expansion is expected in the near future," summarized the company's director Maxim Ershov.

More localization and new horizons

Today, the products of the limited liability company "Hydraulic United Company" are in demand far beyond quarry and agricultural machinery: they are used in the road construction industry (loaders, excavators, bulldozers, road rollers, motor graders, harvesters), machine tool building (in hydraulic stations), tractor manufacturing, dump trucks, crane equipment, and drilling rigs.

The priority task is to supply the domestic market of Belarus, as well as the Russian Federation and the CIS countries. It is precisely here that the joint venture sees its main mission: to be a reliable, independent, and technologically mature supplier of hydraulic power. The company's director is confident that, by adhering to the approved enterprise development strategy, in the foreseeable future the order portfolio will expand, as will the range of products manufactured.

"I will not disclose all the details, but projects are being coordinated for the production of new advanced products and testing programs for other large holdings of our country. Moreover, we are ready to promptly master the production of the majority of the product line of JSC 'Pneumostroy mashina' with various degrees of localization on our base – and that is more than 300 items."

The focus of attention is not only on its own production, but also on the service support of equipment already in operation. This makes it possible to cover the full cycle of customer needs: from supplying a new hydraulic pump to restoring imported counterparts with a quality guarantee, as well as converting imported products to the company's own hydraulic systems.

We ask the director what is the key factor in the development of the young Belarusian-Russian enterprise. Maxim Yershov identifies several main growth drivers:

"First, it is innovation and technology. Thanks to this, we managed to establish the production of our own products in less than a year. Particularly worthy of mention is the tandem of the founders: the Russian joint-stock company 'Pneumostroy mashina', which marked its 110th anniversary this year, and the Belarusian 'BELAZ', which has 77 years of history behind it. The union of century-old experience and modern ambitions has produced a tangible synergistic effect. Second, it is a clear enterprise development strategy and an understanding of customer needs. And third, it is human capital: knowledge, experience, qualifications, the ability to work in a team, and employee motivation."

Yulia SKRIPNIK

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