Osvar

The emergence of high-performance Volzhsky (VAZ) and Kamsky (KamAZ) automobile plants and the planned twofold increase in the total production of cars in the country over the five-year period 1970-75. led to the need to build a specialized factory for the production of automotive lighting. Several cities claimed for the construction of the plant, and Yan Pavlovich Zakharov, the first secretary of the city ​​committee of the CPSU , who was known for a number of his projects that significantly raised the status of the city from 1965-1984, played a decisive role in choosing Vyaznikov ^[3] .

The company was founded in February 1967, when the USSR Minister of Automotive Industry signed an order to establish a directorate and begin construction of a new plant for the production of automotive lighting equipment. In parallel, housing was built for the employees of the enterprise, a new microdistrict of the city was formed - "Decinsky". The first batches of products began to be manufactured in 1970, on December 29, 1975, the Vyaznikovsky Automotive Tractor Lighting Fittings Plant (VZAOA) was officially put into operation, the production began on an industrial scale in 1979 ^{[4] [5]} .

In the USSR, the plant was part of the Avtosvet association, along with the Kirzhach factory Krasny Oktyabr ^[6] . VZOA was a technologically equipped enterprise in the machine - building sphere, and became one of the most important state manufacturers of lighting fixtures for automotive and tractor equipment ^[5] . In its manufacturing industry, the Vyaznikovsky plant played an increasingly significant role ^[6] . in the 1980s, at the peak of development, the plant employed more than 4 thousand people ^[2] .

On October 6, 1992, the plant was transformed into the joint-stock company OSVAR ^[7] .

In 2009, the enterprise was on the verge of closure, after large-scale reductions, the number of workers decreased to 2070 people, the owner ( CJSC SOK Group of Companies ) was considering the possibility of further dismissals until the production was completely stopped by April 2010, some of the equipment was planned to be scrapped, and some should be transferred to the Avtosvet plant in the city of Kirzhach , however, a preliminary strike and increased social tension in the city forced the authorities to reconsider this decision ^[8] .

Public Joint-Stock Company (PJSC) "OSVAR" is a member of the OAT group (United Automotive Technology) | 19 | 7 | 2017 ^[9] and continues to manufacture light-signaling equipment. However, the technology update is not fast enough, the company continues to use machines for the production of GDRs , about 40 years old ^[10] . At the beginning of 2016, due to debts, Gazprom limited gas supplies ^[11] , an active policy of reducing the number of employees and reducing production volumes was introduced, a shortened work week was introduced ^[12] . But these problems are being addressed.

OSVAR company produces headlights, other lighting equipment and control lamps for almost all Russian-made cars, as well as Russian-made cars such as Datsun , Chevrolet , Nissan and Renault , headlights for MAZ cars, tractors Belarus and Amkodor are also produced. From Ukrainian carriers of products is LuAZ and KrAZ . OSVAR products are also transported by trams and trolleybuses of Russian and Belorussian production.

• Https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/ВАЗ-2104

  VAZ-2104 with OSVAR headlights

• Https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Belarus 4522 (open day 2017) 1.jpg

  Tractor Belarus-4522 with the so-called "standard OSVAR headlights (inner pair of round headlights)

Factory site

• DZS

• Vyaznikovsky Plant of Automotive Tractor Lighting Fittings // Vladimirskaya Zemlya: Geographical Dictionary. - Vladimir Department of the Geographical Society of the USSR, 1991. - P. 56.