�AVTOVAZ� bought �Rostec� plant for assembly robots production

Only in Russia AVTOVAZ regained the Volga Engineering Plant (VEP) as a supplier It produces assembly robots, dies and molds for automotive industry. The company sold it in 2013 for the debts of the State Corporation «Rostec».

Return of «Rostec» under the control of «AVTOVAZ» is associated with «Renault –Nissan» interest, as suggested by «Izvestia». It owns 50% of «AVTOVAZ», for the production of dies and molds for Russian models of concern. Multi-ton of dies and molds is one of the most expensive components in the automobile production, just few foreign automakers have their own production of stamps.

In the Directorate of public relations of «AVTOVAZ» it is reported that tax documents are submitted for registration of OJSC «AVTOVAZ» as a single member of LLC «VEP». The last statement of «VEP» from the unified state register of legal entities confirms that «VEP» again moved to 100% ownership of «AVTOVAZ».

The decision to sell «VEP» to «Rostec» was made in 2012 by the former management team of the Volga automobile plant, headed by Igor Komarov. Transaction was closed in October, last year. According to the annual report of «AVTOVAZ» for 2012, «VEP» was estimated at 5 billion rubles, but in IFRS financial statements for the first quarter of 2013 the company reported: "the total amount of the consideration, received from withdrawal («VEP»), is 551 million rubles". It is only 11% of the initial price. «AVTOVAZ» did not disclose the amount of reverse repurchase.

History of «VEP» began in 1972; it was originally created as «AVTOVAZ» unit for alternators and starters production. But then the workers of the plant mastered the production of milling machines and the first automatic manipulators. The plant acquired a truly industrial scale after the treaty with «Kuka Systems GmbH» about creating licensed production of robots, which was signed in 1984. However, the localization was limited to the production of mechanical parts of robots, all the software had to be bought in Germany. In 2000, the plant was named "Production of technological equipment", and received the capacity for dies and presses production. One of the last large «VEP’s» orders was assembly lines of «Kalina/Priora» in Togliatti and «Granta» conveyor in Izhevsk. In addition to stamps, molds, various industrial machines and robots «VEP» produces automotive harnesses and some kinds of spare parts for Russian automobile companies.