Russian Firm, SHAAZ, To Supply Global Industry With New Plant.

SHAAZ, a division of the Russia's Ural Mining and Metallurgical Co. (UMMC), said that it has become the world's largest producer of advanced CuproBraze heat exchangers, a cutting-edge technology developed by the International Copper Association (ICA).

As part of its strategy to vertically integrate, UMMC said it provided SHAAZ with sufficient financing to transform its Soviet-era plant into a globally competitive, advanced manufacturing facility. The plant is certified in Russia according to ISO 9001 standards, which makes it eligible to supply parts to the global automotive marketplace.

By the year 2005, the new CuproBraze plant will have a manufacturing capacity of 450,000 radiators, including 250,000 charge air coolers (CACs) per year, making it the largest CuproBraze production line in the world, according to UMMC.

SHAAZ is already a major producer of conventional soldered radiators for trucks and buses, as well as minibuses, light trucks and passenger cars in Russia. Approximately 52 percent of its production is for OEM applications and the rest for the aftermarket.

Its customer base includes major vehicle producers in Russia such as KAMAZ, the company said. Additionally, Caterpillar, Ford and many other Western companies in Russia are looking at partnering with SHAAZ because of its advanced technology, UMMC said.

According to Vladimir Kolotushkin, general director of SHAAZ, the Russian automotive industry as a whole is emerging as a manufacturing power as a result of investments in the latest technologies. "As long as the demand is present and our prices are competitive, nothing can prevent us from exporting CuproBraze heat exchangers anywhere on the globe," said Kolotushkin.

As part of its global marketing strategy, SHAAZ said it joined the North American Radiator Service Association (NARSA) in 2002 and will exhibit at NARSA's trade show in March 2003, in San Diego, California. It also will participate at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Congress and Exhibit in Detroit in March 2003.