Russian President Vladimir Putin compared Russia’s renowned truck maker Kamaz with a phoenix, saying that the enterprise arose from the ashes after a troubled period in the 1990s.
“I remember very well the state in which the plant was in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The fire [which took place in 1993] dealt a serious blow to the enterprise. You took control of it in a very difficult period. In the years that followed, the plant rose from the ashes like a phoenix and gained an absolutely new shape, not only in appearance but also in essence, in quality,” Putin said on Friday at a meeting with Rostec Director General Sergei Chemezov and Kamaz Director General Sergei Kogogin.
The engine-making facility of Kamaz was completely destroyed by fire on April 14, 1993. Production was restored by the end of that year. Losses were estimated at about $150 million.
Last month, German company Daimler Trucks bought 15% in the company, with Daimler directly receiving 106.08 million shares in Kamaz, the Russian truck maker said.
Previously Daimler Truck’s parent company, Daimler AG, held that share of stock.
Kamaz is the largest automobile corporation in Russia and one of the world’s 20 leading manufacturers. The company produces trucks, trailers, buses, tractors, engines, power units, and different tools.
According to the information on the company’s website, its main shareholders are the state-owned Rostec corporation (47.1%) and Avtoinvest (23.54%).
