On August 29 (local time), Chinese equipment manufacturer Zoomlion and MAZ Group, an old Belarusian manufacturer, signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Minsk, capital of Belarus, to formally establish Zoomlion - MAZ joint venture. 

Belarusian Minister of Industry Vitaly Vovk, Special Representative of Hunan Provincial Governor, Mr. Hu Henghua, Deputy Secretary of CPC Changsha Municipal Committee and mayor of Changsha, MAZ Chairman Mr. Kaj Lynch and Zoomlion Chairman Mr. Zhan Chunxin were present to witness this moment.
 

At the signing ceremony, Zhan Chunxin and Kaj Lynch delivered the ZOOMLION-MAZ truck cranes of the joint venture to Belarus and Russian clients, and a 16-ton road sweeper to the Minsk Municipal Council to boost the local environmental sanitation drive. 

The representative of Russian client said, “I feel the ZOOMLION-MAZ truck crane is almost a perfect combination of Zoomlion’s mature upper equipment and MAZ’s best-selling chassis while trying it. The product not only boasts improved performance but also meets local working conditions and its own use requirements. 

It is learned that the Zoomlion - MAZ Joint Venture, located in Mohilyow Industrial Zone, will rent the production facilities of MTM, a special vehicle plant under MAZ, to carry out assembly and production. According to the plan, the joint venture will move to China-Belarus Industrial Park after the latter’s completion in 2019. 

As one of the first Chinese-funded enterprises settling in the Park in May 2015, Zoomlion has always actively promoted the cooperation with MAZ group for localized production. After only seven months, the first batch of assembly equipment of the joint venture rolled off the production line in Belarus, including the 40-ton and 60-ton truck cranes and 16-ton road sweepers with the brand ZOOMLION - MAZ. This move further promoted the localization of Zoomlion products, and at the same time, won the great concern and support of Belarusian government. 

Zoomlion’s Belarusian project leader revealed that the company would continue to work closely with MAZ Group in 2016 to promote the formal operation of the joint venture, produce and assemble more Zoomlion equipment locally, shape more competitive business model and really build a  China-Belarus R&D and manufacturing base with strong radiation force on the Silk Road Economic Belt.