BELaz in Belarus makes mining dump trucks and holds the Guinness record for having the largest one. It is 3 storeys high and can fit 90 elephants into his body.
But the size isn’t the only impressive thing. There is also the volume. During the BELaz tour, on the factory’s territory, we saw hundreds of trucks in line.
We have already seen the world’s (second) largest vehicle. Let’s see more of outstanding engineering. I am an Engineer On Tour, and this is my review of the BELaz tour.
Table of Contents
Where is BELaz located?
BELaz factory is located in Zhodzina, a small city in Belarus. It is around 50 km from the capital Minsk. In Zhodzina, BELaz is the major employer, it seems that almost every family has someone who works there.
In the past, as an engineering consultant, I used to visit such USSR-like cities in Russia. With life centered around production and soviet music radioed over the streets, they feel like a trip back in time.
I compare Zhodino to industrial cities in Russia because most of them took shape in Soviet Times. They hold many similarities up to these days. Nevertheless, if I have to say what is distinctive about Zhodzina, I would say that it is exceptionally tidy.
Why I find BELaz significant?
I work as a consultant in Engineering software, and I love what I do. Each time I visit a new factory, they show me the things they are proud of. BELaz isn’t an exception.
But there is one more thing that I find impressive, besides their products.
Let’s just say that Belarus isn’t the wealthiest country. And it doesn’t hold the world’s most innovative technical universities. On top of that, it came through the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The impressive thing is that they are competitive in the global market. In the mining dump trucks market, they hold the second spot after the US’s Caterpillar. It countries like Russia and Belarus, it took a huge effort to keep industries running after the collapse of the USSR, as well as to stay competitive now in the digital age. (More than half of the trucks are sold to Russia and former USSR countries though)
BELaz trucks in numbers
- According to the BELaz website, the share of the company on the global market of mining dump trucks is 30%.
- Around 2000 trucks a year
- Sells to more than 80 countries
- More than 70% of trucks are supplied to Russia and post USSR countries
- The largest truck BELAZ-75710
- 3430 horsepower
- The highest payload capacity – 450 tons
- Electromechanical transmission
- 20.6×9.75×8.27 meters
Data is taken from BELaz website.
What to expect from the tour
The whole tour takes around 2 hours.
During the tour, they bring you to the visitor’s center/museum. In shows the general information about the company and its products.
Then they get you on a bus and move to a remote area of the factory. There, the company’s products are lined up, including the largest truck.
You can climb up
Afterward, they bring you to the workshop (photography there is not allowed). And in the end, to the souvenir shop.
The price for the tour was around 10 Eur.
Conclusion
Should you visit it? For hardcore engineers – highly recommend!
For everyone else – it is probably not enough of a reason to visit Belarus, but if you are there, I think it is one of the best things to do around Minsk.
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