Lvivskyj avtobuznyj zavod

Lvivskyj avtobusnyj zavod Львівський автобусний завод
legal form	Holding
founding	May 21, 1945
resolution	2014
Reason for dissolution	insolvency
Seat	Lviv (German Lemberg )
management	Igor Churkin
Branch	Omnibuses , trolleybuses
Website	www.laz.ua

A LAZ-695M built in 1974 (taken in 2009)

A LAZ-699 , photographed in 2008 in Tomsk , Russia

ElectroLAZ E301D1 - 18.6 meter trolleybus

NeoLAZ-12 used by FC Karpaty Lviv

CityLAZ-12

CityLAZ-20

The Lvivskyj awtobusnyj zavod , ( Ukrainian Львівський автобусний завод , literally "Lviv Bus Plant") was a manufacturer of buses and trolleybuses in Lviv , Ukraine . The manufacturer himself used the Russian name of the work on its Ukrainian website, Львовский автобусный завод ( Lwowsky Avtobusny Sawod ), which is also used in literature. The brand name under which the vehicles were sold is LAZ (ЛАЗ).

history

The plant was built from 1945 and completed in 1949. The production of various vehicles began as early as the construction phase, including mobile sales stands based on the ZIS-150 truck and truck-mounted cranes. In addition, an electrically powered small van was built in series around 1949. In the 1950s there were plans to build the city bus ZIS-155 from the Sawod imeni Stalina near LAZ. However, these were never realized. Instead, the plant developed a more modern city bus under the name LAZ-695 in 1956, the production of which was approved by the authorities. Series production began in 1956 and did not end until the 2000s, when around 280,000 copies were made.

During the 1960s, new models were developed, such as the LAZ-699 and LAZ-697 coaches .

In 1967 LAZ won the prize for the best European bus at the Brussels Motor Show. LAZ was the developer of the low-floor technology and in 1963 produced the LAZ-360, the first model with this technology, the design came from the Soviet NAMI Institute .

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the company ran into financial difficulties and stopped production due to a lack of orders. With the state reorganization and recovery of the economy, production started again and the LAZ-52523 model was newly developed.

In 2001 LAZ was bought by the Russian entrepreneur Igor Churkin . After the plant was sold, the entire production facility was renewed in order to produce state-of-the-art buses.

In 2014 LAZ stopped production after plant components and buildings had already been sold. The remaining assets and buildings were judicially confiscated. Various legal disputes followed, which lasted until at least 2016.

Companies

LAZ was one of the largest manufacturers of buses in the Soviet Union and has been the largest manufacturer of buses in the country and the largest industrial company in the city since Ukraine's independence. The works were privatized and transferred to a holding company. City buses, coaches, trolley buses, battery buses and apron buses as well as special vehicles such as ambulances and mobile polyclinics were produced.

The most famous models are the LAZ-695 Citybus and the longer version, the LAZ-699. ElectroLAZ, a modern trolleybus, is used in over 25 cities around the world.

LAZ provided a fleet of buses for the UEFA Euro 2012 , after which the buses were used in the regular scheduled service of the host cities.

The Ukrainian government signed a contract with LAZ for the delivery of 2500 new "CityLAZ" buses with the option of 800 more. In addition, a branch was opened in the USA. The first delivery to Macedonia took place in February 2011. Deliveries to the cities of Ukraine also took place in 2011. A year later, three new models based on the older product lines appeared: LAZ-695 Soyuz, LAZ-4207DM, and LAZ A183 CNG .

Corporate structure

The LAZ-Holding consisted of the following companies:

• Lviv bus plant "LAZ"
• Dnepro bus plant "DAZ"
• Nikolayev Machine Plant "NMZ"
• LAZ finance company "LAZ Finance"
• LAZ sale "Targoviy Dom LAZ"
• LAZ service and spare parts "LAZ service"
• LAZ Holding headquarters "Office Kiev"
• LAZ branch New York "Office New York"
• Lemberg luxury buses "Lemberg Coach"

production

The Lwow Buswerk differed greatly from other manufacturers in many ways. The manufacturing costs were extremely low compared to other brands. There was also a flexible production line on which a wide variety of models could be built at the same time. Most of the larger manufacturers have different assembly lines for different product classes because the variable design is too complex to implement.

LAZ buses were largely made by hand and were therefore easier to adapt to possible customer requirements than with robots.

Chassis , brakes , axles , gears , diesel engines and heating were supplied for some models from Germany , Italy , Romania and the USA . Well-known suppliers included MAN , Eberspächer , Mercedes-Benz , Deutz , ZF Friedrichshafen AG , Iveco and Cummins Engine .

Equipment of the works

LAZ-Holding had two plants in Ukraine. The larger one is the LAZ plant in Lviv, the smaller the DAZ plant in Kamjanske .

The LAZ plant in Lviv consisted of over 300 buildings, a small town of its own. The plant had water supply , substation , gas filtration plant, sewage treatment plant, sewage treatment plant, central air supply , plant fire brigade , site security, press shop , laser tailoring , electrical workshop, locksmith , paint , design department and the marketing department. It spanned an area more than 20 blocks in length and 30 in width.

DAZ was the smaller plant, consisting of 20 large buildings. Among other things, DAZ is equipped with a large assembly hall, central compressed air supply, welding shop, paint shop and test site.

The headquarters of LAZ Holding was in the city center of Kiev .

Web links

Commons : Lvivskyj awtobusnyj sawod  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official company website (Ukrainian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ laz.ua - LAZ website with exemplary mention ( memento from December 19, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (Russian)
2. ↑ LM Shugurov: АВТОМОБИЛИ. России и СССР. Second part. Ilbi / Prostreks, Moscow 1994, ISBN 5-87483-006-5 , various pages.
3. ↑ A brief outline of the history of the Lvivskyj avtobusnyj zavods including an overview of the vehicles built (Russian)
4. ↑ Website for the LAZ-695, its history and technical data (Russian)
5. ↑ Стало відомо, хто купив будівлі «Львівського автобусного заводу» (Ukrainian)