Published on: 2026-05-05
Source: KAMAZ – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The head of the company reported to the President on import substitution in production, on new cars, including the K5 series, a military lineup. Special attention at the meeting was paid to measures for social support of employees, as well as the humanitarian mission in the SVO zone.
V. Putin:Sergey Anatolyevich, KAMAZ is the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer not only in Russia but also in the CIS, probably, one could say. The entire auto industry is going through difficult times, but KAMAZ is coping. I see that contributions at all levels of the budget system have even significantly increased, tax contributions have increased from KAMAZ. And the staff has been almost completely preserved, right? How do you manage that?
S. Skogogin:Vladimir Vladimirovich, of course, 2022 was a challenge for us, because what happened was, let’s say, a rather sharp reorientation of goals and objectives. We mainly faced the fact that we were integrated into our global [automotive] industry. And in this case, during the “divorce” with our partners, including “Daimler,” it was important to preserve our operability. But the policy pursued by the company even before the special military operation was always aimed at maximizing localization.
Therefore, I can assure you that not a single day would go by when “KAMAZ” did not stop, shake hands with our European partners, say goodbye until better times, and continue working. That is, the entire component base was preserved. It was a big challenge: even taking the engine, it was necessary to master about 240 parts in two months. The company coped with this.
Those goals and objectives that stood before K5 – you, as I know, the driver of this car. I hope you liked it.
V. Putin:Liked.
S. Skogogin:Modern car.
V. Putin:Of course.
S. Skogogin:But this is not the only thing you relied on.
This is only part of the range that is currently produced in the K5 series. Imagine that by 2021 we had actually finished designing the entire series, and had to start again 50 percent from scratch. To move from one component base to another.
Thanks to our employees, we handled it, and the research center did a great job. Today we offer Russian and non-Russian clients, of course, the entire range of K5 series automobiles. I would especially, probably, draw attention to this column – all-wheel drive heavy vehicles.
V. Putin:Dump trucks, tractor trucks.
S. Skogogin:They usually worked in off-road conditions (the Far North, Siberia) and mainly used “Mercedes” and “Volvo” vehicles.
I can say that starting from last year, we began deliveries quite successfully. Today we produce and deliver 30–50 units monthly. Of course, given the complex road situation, people are cautious, still driving old cars, but the renewal process is underway. We work with our clients, hold a special conference, gather all the timber producers in Naberezhnye Chelny to discuss what equipment is needed and what else we should do; you see, this is firefighting.
Everything here is aimed at making the person comfortable and cozy. And, of course, it is very important that we did not just go to recreate what we made before, we went to improve the characteristics, increased the engine power. That is, 13 liters, it was 12, increased power to 560 horsepower, increased torque, overhaul and service interval – 120 thousand, we tried to give customers even better vehicle characteristics so that they could earn money on this.
And here is what I told you about, what the car consists of. Today, all this is produced in our country, in Russia. I do not spare the details. If you take diesel engines, this is not only the automotive sector, it is agriculture machinery, they are installed on locomotives, in energy they are used as distributed energy, electric generators. Last year we carried out “sea adaptation,” that is, adaptation for use on ships of this 13-liter engine. Mainly Volvo Penta is used worldwide; we made a replacement.
V. Putin:I think it will be very much in demand.
S. Skogogin:Of course. There, perhaps, a small series production compared to the automotive industry. Belarusian manufacturers now, «Gomelmash», Rostov [Rostselmash], Saint Petersburg [Petersburg Tractor Plant] — for tractor machinery – we no longer just offered them, we are already supplying, all tests have been completed.
V. Putin:And the engines, gearbox, axles…
S. Skogogin:Yes, Vladimir Vladimirovich.
V. Putin:Suspension, cabin – everything is excellent.
S. Skogogin:This is a gigantic job.
We have February 16 – the birthday of the automobile. 50 years ago, the first automobile rolled off the conveyor. On this day, we conducted a complete modernization of the bridge factory both in terms of equipment and design. We made a bridge that, to be honest, could not be broken. It stood up to 4.5 million cycles on the NTZ test bench, which is practically twice as much as required, with the beam experiencing no damage, and the parts showing no wear. We achieved such a result.
V. Putin:Hello, Sergey Anatolyevich.
S. Skogogin:An important question for us was to unite the team under these changed conditions. The goal I set for myself was to unite the team on the basis of patriotism.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, in the first stage, we had to work for more than two years, neither weekends nor vacations at all. Because, imagine, how much our state defense order grew. It was important that people approached this with dedication.
We immediately took command over three regiments where the majority, up to 70 percent, were mobilized people from Tatarstan, and there were employees of “KAMAZ”. In total, 24 humanitarian shipments have been sent, 1500 tons have been dispatched. My wife, a deputy of the State Duma, is engaged in this. She necessarily visits the front once a quarter, once every two months she considers it her civic duty to personally go to Rostov to deliver the cargo.
And we form not just humanitarian aid, the regiment commanders determine what they need. It turns out this way, since the KAMAZ is the main vehicle in the army, a third are reserve units, a third is something for the fighters, and the rest are passenger cars, quadcopters, drones, REB, that is, everything that is necessary. And we try to clearly record that in the city of Naberezhnye Chelny, at other our factories and youth, and veterans strive to make with their own hands what is needed, weave nets, various devices. All this goes on.
I believe that it is important that not only the company pays for this. People collect there, let it be a small amount of money from their salaries.
As part of uniting the team. You very often now raise the demographic question. What does the company do? First of all, we have never overlooked the issue of motherhood and childhood from the outset, that is, benefits are paid both during maternity leave and after the birth of a child up to 16 years old. Up to 3 years old, if the mother is single, we pay her the benefit.
An important question is that a complex of children’s recreation camps was still built at the “KAMAZ” during the Soviet Union.
Four camps in one location on the bank of the Kama River, we did not abandon them, we did not leave them, they are fully maintained. “KAMAZ” needs 2 thousand places per season, but we support all 10 thousand, and half of these camps operate year-round, since there are all heating systems there, these are capital buildings and structures, not just some small houses, but fully equipped. It’s very interesting for children.
One of the directions we took was from the Lugansk People’s Republic — there is the occupied city of Lisichansk in Tatarstan, where 500 children are brought in the summer and hosted in a camp with us. They also need to live without war.
V. Putin:On the riverbank?
S. Skogogin:Yes.
Pay attention to this as well. Today, we have registered 273 labor dynasties.
V. Putin:Yes, I see.
S. Skogogin:We are very careful about this, only 2 percent of the personnel turnover is in the labor dynasty.
V. Putin:So, is there also an increase in dynasties?
S. Skogogin:Yes.
V. Putin:That is, do people work at the enterprise with pleasure?
S. Skogogin:They work. Sometimes they work at the same factory; sometimes at several. Their work experience totals 350-360 years, but our company is not a 100-year-old company, we have 50. And under these conditions, I believe this is the pride of the people, the father supports the son, the mother supports the son, families form at the factory. These people are dedicated, motivated, and they highly value their place of work.
We take education very seriously. I believe that the practice we adopted in the country is “Professionalism”, “Advanced engineering schools.” We were the first in the country to immediately take up the cause of the “Advanced Engineering School”, organized it, and work began. Now there are already more than 800 students. This is Kazan Federal University, which has the Institute of Automotive Engineers located in Naberezhnye Chelny, where 8 thousand students are [studying].
V. Putin:You probably pay attention to working professions. After all, you yourself started as a milling machine operator, didn’t you?
S. Skogogin:I started as a milling machine operator, lathe operator, I have a full qualification, worked as a foreman. I have a biography from the Soviet era, gradually building a career up to company manager.
But what did I notice? We had a problem that the children did not want to go into engineering specialties. Fortunately, it has ended. But in order for it to end thoughtfully, we organized engineering classes from the 5th grade in 12 schools. Our employees give them elective lectures, and we organize in-depth study of mathematics and physics. 85 percent of the graduates of these classes go into technical specialties. If we start working with them in the 5th grade, then we get the result that is needed.
V. Putin:Professional orientation is already being formed in children.
S. Skogogin:Yes. And practically all students of higher educational institutions, starting from the second year, undergo internships and work. “Advanced Engineering School” – we, on a contractual basis, transfer research work and experimental design work. More than 20 laboratories are fully equipped by us with modern equipment. I somehow specially, having arrived in Naberezhnye Chelny, stopped on the way to the university. After eight in the evening there were no students, but there were heads of laboratories. I paid attention to the fact that: their eyes were burning.They received the opportunity to conduct research using the most modern equipment, that is, the Federation, the Republic, and “KAMAZ” created a place that became interesting for both teachers and students. I believe this is a great achievement of ours.
To the 50th anniversary, we organized work within the framework of the forum “Design is Young.” What do I think, Vladimir Vladimirovich? The younger generation is inclined towards minimalism, but it all becomes the same. And today we confidently say that the future is with modern design. When this competition was organized in our country, we took the initiative that automobile design will be [discussed and] held [competitions] annually here at “KAMAZ.” Look, 800 applications were received, 13 nominations, 33 winners – students from our country. Participants came from four countries, 30 cities, 20 regions of Russia.The most lively interest was caused by what we briefly showed here, mainly focusing on commercial transport, obviously, that was our focus. But the most interesting decision: our designers have thought it over and are planning, of course, to use it also in serial production. The guys were also very enthusiastic.
“You were given one more task,” — in the Message, there was a directive — this was about industrial parks. “KAMAZ” is the owner of the largest industrial park in our country. That is, when we were engaged in a certain optimization at “KAMAZ” with Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov, we started with this project. Today, it is more than 2 million square meters of covered production space, 510 residents, 17,000 jobs created. And the volume of commodity production last year was 170 billion; if you consider the volumes of “KAMAZ”, this is almost 40 percent.
We have visited many cities, from Kaliningrad, and even in Kaliningrad there is a small industrial park. We are seriously working in this direction.
There was a curious case in Stavropol, where we relocated part of the production, conducted optimization, and Vladimir Vladimirovich [Vladimirov, Governor of Stavropol Krai], your deputy, was outraged. I said: “Come on, Volodya, trust me, I’ll do it so that it will be better for you.” Today he is proud of this facility. We intend to continue its development.
V. Putin:And you have a military line.
S. Skogogin:Yes, a military lineup. To some extent, I believe this is a feat. You used to have a [special] military automobile plant with us, we produced 70 units per year. If you ask how many units KAMAZ produces today, the answer is simple: 3800. In a short period of time, we have developed more than 20 models, completely diverse.
How do I motivate the teams in this? Our vehicle capacity is 10 people; it does not explode under artillery or rocket fire, is protected from shrapnel, with 6 kilograms under the wheel. It has excellent ballistic resistance there. Shelling is now extremely rare, mainly it is the droning of drones. I say: every car produced saves ten lives of our soldiers. This very much motivates people because any one of them might have a son, brother, friend, or neighbor there. This is very motivating.
So what should I note? The “Linza” vehicle is an ambulance. It has very good capacity, equipped to carry four lying down patients, wounded, and plus six seated. The survivability is very high. The vehicle is fast. Often people thank me because this vehicle exists. This is an important matter.
The car, which in this part communicates with these three cars, is multifunctional. All these cars, all models, were made together with officers of the special forces. That is, here we have…
V. Putin:There are strong guys, they know what they need.
S. Skogogin:…they began to say that it is necessary. That is, one thing, we drew it as needed, another thing – they did. For example, these are trucks. Why were they born? They are standardized, 4386 by cabin. It turns out that when transporting ammunition, in case of an explosion, they could detonate, bring something else. We made an armored platform, mounts for mortars, machine guns, the entire ammunition load, all of this was done. I also realized that, in principle, this machine can perform work to support special groups in a short fight. This has been accomplished.
Our serial cars “Mustangs” have also been converted to armored cabins, because today the fuel tanker is subjected to impacts, and logistics vehicles are also subjected to impacts.
This may not exactly be our topic. We have an outdated BTR, not a full-fledged one. Our company decided to do it independently. This year we will upgrade this vehicle, start testing it, so that next year we can release an experimental-industrial batch.
V. Putin:Very good.
Thank you.
Source: kremlin.ru
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