2023-10-26 22:07:13
The owner of the Kaluga plant for assembling Swedish trucks Volvo Trucks will become the Industrial Investments group. Now the new owner is “coming into his own” reported On October 26, in his telegram channel, Governor of the Kaluga Region Vladislav Shapsha.
“Negotiations are underway with potential industrial partners. One of these partners could be the Ural automobile plant. The first trucks will be produced this year,” the governor added.
Ural, which produces heavy trucks, came under the control of Dmitry Strezhnev’s United Machine-Building Group (OMG) in 2020 (previously it was part of Oleg Deripaska’s GAZ Group). In May 2023, Strezhnev sold the Ural automobile plant to management, Interfax wrote.
The Industrial Investments group was created in May of this year with an authorized capital of 200,000 rubles, according to SPARK-Interfax data. The owners of the company are not disclosed. The general director is Andrey Alexandrov. According to Interfax, the group, among other legal entities, includes SDM LLC, owned by a structure that was owned by Strezhnev until 2023.
In addition, the recently created Automobile Motor Company JSC (AMO) will also be a party to the transaction, according to the agency. Its founder, Georgy Pilipenko, is a former co-owner (14%) of Tekhmash and former general director of Invest-Avtovolga, according to SPARK-Interfax data. The beneficiary of both companies is Strezhnev.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade announced on September 8 that Volvo’s assets in Russia, the main one of which is a plant for welding and painting cabs, as well as for assembling trucks with a capacity of 15,000 units per year, “were transferred to a Russian investor.” Then the department and the new owner were going to identify a Russian partner for the further development of production at the concern’s site.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade did not disclose either the investor or the production partner. From the Unified State Register of Legal Entities it became known that the team of banker Igor Kim from Expobank received operational control over the assets of the Swedish automaker. Vedomosti’s sources then assumed that he would not be the ultimate beneficiary of these assets.
At the end of August 2023, the former Volvo Trucks plant in Russia was bought by the Aston group, controlled by Kim, an Interfax source notes. This company began to look for a partner to organize the production of trucks. This is exactly what the Industrial Investments group became. The deal to acquire production assets in Kaluga should be closed by the end of November.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade, together with the domestic industrial partner, is implementing an action plan aimed at the speedy restart of production at the Kaluga site Volvo, a ministry representative told Vedomosti. “Options for further expansion of production and the range of products are also being explored with all interested parties,” he added.
Most likely, in the case of the former Volvo plant, the production scheme of Chinese cars under the Russian brand will once again be used, says independent automotive industry consultant Sergei Burgazliev. He recalls that the new owners also received the leasing division of the Swedish brand, and it represents the most “tidbit”, since there are still many fairly modern Volvo tractors on Russian roads that were leased.
In addition, the Kaluga plant is the only production facility in the country, besides Kamaz, where it is possible to weld and paint cabins for heavy trucks, the expert notes. In theory, the company’s products can compete with Kamaz, which is now busy fulfilling government orders, argues Burgazliev.
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