Russia’s auto giant coming to Elmia “We succeed by having skilled suppliers”

The huge Russian car manufacturer AvtoVAZ is undergoing a total transformation. Swedish purchasing director Erik Barenthein is one of the people leading that work. He will be at Elmia Subcontractor to describe the AvtoVAZ of the future and to seek new suppliers.

Building up the “new” AvtoVAZ began at the start of 2014 and is proceeding at full pace led by Bo Andersson of Sweden. One member of the inner circle is Erik Barenthein, who is in charge of organising and developing the purchasing operations. Erik will be at Elmia Subcontractor on Friday 14 November. He will be on stage to talk about AvtoVAZ and above all to try to answer questions from suppliers.

AvtoVAZ’s plans and pace of change have aroused great interest from the entire automotive world. To achieve the aim of having a profitable company, employee numbers have been reduced and productivity will be increased. Already this autumn parts of a new model range have begun being rolled out – a necessity to make VAZ cars more attractive outside Russia.
“So far the changes have gone well but of course it’s tough for everyone involved, as fewer people have to build more cars.” Barenthein says.

Because AvtoVAZ’s biggest owner is now Nissan/Renault, some Nissan, Datsun and Renault models are being built under licence. The aim is to produce well over one million cars a year.

Is it possible for Swedish suppliers to have AvtoVAZ as a customer?
“We’re constantly looking for the best suppliers based on the requirements we’ve set,” Barenthein explains. “Right now we’re looking at suppliers of drive trains, high-tensile steel and electronics. In terms of the electronics, we’re interested in suppliers of multimedia systems for the cars.”

If a supplier meets your requirements and is interested in become a supplier to AvtoVAZ, what should he do?
“At Elmia Subcontractor I will describe in great detail which suppliers we’re looking for and how they can contact us at AvtoVAZ. I also hope to have time to sit down and make first contact with a number of potential suppliers. We achieve success by having skilled suppliers.”