ZF Friedrichshafen, the joint venture between ZF Friedrichshafen and Kamaz, has opened a new commercial vehicle transmission production plant in Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia.
Spanning 20,000m2 , the new site will produce Ecomid and Ecosplit commercial vehicle transmissions.
The new plant is part of an investment package of €90m which will be used by artners ZF and Kamaz to expand capacities at the site by 2016.
ZF chief executive officer Stefan Sommer said: "We are firmly convinced that this key market will develop positively and now we are able to serve this market even better."
The new location also expands the production volume of the joint venture, which is currently 20,000 units annually. Starting in 2016, both firms expect to roll out up to 50,000 Ecosplit and Ecomid transmissions from the plant annually.
Kamaz general director Sergey Kogogin said that in order to improve the competitiveness of their Kamaz trucks, they rely on technology transfer and the collaboration with international automotive suppliers, including ZF.
"The investment in the joint venture ZF Kama continues to guarantee our customers modern and high quality products," Kogogin added.
Both companies also plan to expand the workforce to 550 within the next two years, which is currently at 350.
ZF holds 51% stake in ZF Kama, while Kamaz holds remaining 49 %. It currently manufactures Ecosplit 16-speed version and Ecomid nine-speed version transmissions for Kamaz and other Russian truck makers at the Naberezhnye Chelny plant..
