The Czechoslovak Group (CSG) has started to produce chassis for Tatra vehicles in Slovakia, where it wants to expand its production and subsequently start assembling entire vehicles, for the army or firefighters. The manager of Tatra Defense Slovakia, Róbert Gašparík, told the press today. The Minister of Defense Jaroslav Naď added that his office is preparing a big competition for the purchase of trucks for the army.
“Our effort is to move to Slovakia the production of chassis and subsequently entire vehicles for power units. There would be better service options and better availability of training. It is a vehicle for us, which is still Czechoslovak,” said Gašparík.
The assembly of 8×8 chassis for Tatra cars in Slovakia is taking place in Trenčín, West Slovakia, where the current CSG group has previously acquired a military repair company for a long-term lease.
“Some components are imported from the Kopřivnice Tatra, some are manufactured right here. Several dozen people are already working on it,” said Gašparík.
Now, according to Gašparík, 8×8 chassis are being produced in Trenčín, and in the future the company intends to produce other model lines there as well. At present, 30 people are employed in this production, and the number of employees is expected to increase to 100 in the future.
Tatra trucks have a long tradition in Slovakia from the time of Czechoslovakia. In the past, the Tatras were also produced in Slovakia, but in Bánovce nad Bebravou in western Slovakia, production ended in the 1990s.
Slovak Minister of Defense Jaroslav Naď announced that his office is preparing a big competition for the purchase of trucks. “We will need more than 1,500 trucks of various types.
We are not only communicating with Tatra on how to secure the vehicles we need on the one hand, and on the other hand to give our state and citizens some benefits,” Naď told reporters.
The Minister has long advocated that Slovak companies participate in the supply of military equipment that Slovakia will purchase. In June, for example, aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody and the Slovak state-owned company Letecké opravovne Trenčín agreed on the conditions for the production of parts for the new L-39NG aircraft and possible further cooperation in logistical support or providing a training system. In the event that the aforementioned aircraft are purchased by the Slovak Army, the cooperation should include not only the production of L-39NG parts but also cooperation on logistical support in Slovakia and the provision of a ground training system.