Use the model: TheBelarusian Autoworks is the company that manufactures (produces, makes) reliable mining dump trucks.
| company | describing adjective | product |
| Minsk Automobile Plant | well-made | fuel oil, gasoline, diesel fuel |
| Instrument-making plant ‘Izmeritel’ | reliable | power transformers, transformer substations |
| Minsk Motor Plant | high-quality | integrated circuits, semiconductor devices |
| ‘Naftan»’OJSC | competitive | incandescent bulbs, energy-saving bulbs |
| ‘Integral’ JSC | high-tech | fridges, freezers, automatic washing machines |
| Minsk Bearing Plant | high-performance | fifth-wheel tractors, drop-side trucks, buses, chassis |
| Minsk Electrotechnical Plant | safe | dashboards for trucks, taximeters, relay-brakers |
| Brest Electric Lamp Plant | good-quality | diesel engines |
| ‘Atlant’ CJSC | excellent | ball bearings, spherical roller bearings |
OJSC – Open Joint Stock Company – Открытое Акционерное Общество (ОАО)
CJSC – Closed Joint Stock Company – Закрытое Акционерное Общество (ЗАО)
PA – Production Association – Производственное Объединение
Exercise 2.
Work in pairs. Your friend has just read the text ‘The Industry of Belarus’. Interview him about one of the leading branches of national economy (automotive engineering, tractor and agricultural engineering, radio-electronics, electrical engineering, chemical and petrochemical industry). Ask about:
- the leading enterprises in this sector …
- the kinds of products the industry specializes in …
- if the companies produce competitive products …
- where the manufacturing output is exported …
| Useful Language Do you happen to know… As far as I know… I wonder if… If I’m not mistaken… I’d like to know (if)… If I remember right… Could you possibly tell me… It seems to me… One more question to you… Let me think… |
Use the model:
- Could you tell me what kinds of products light industry specializes in?
- If I’m not mistaken it specializes in clothes made of cotton, flax and wool.
Exercise 3.
Have you ever been inside a factory? Describe what you saw and your general impressions. If you haven’t been there yet describe what happens in the different areas of the factory using your general knowledge. Use expressions from the Useful language box to help you.
| Useful language A typical factory includes (consists of)…, to be located, to be situated in an industrial zone, the main production area (line), a machine hall (workshop), an assembly shop, a warehouse, a packing line, the gatehouse, large machinery, production process is fully (partially) automated, to roll off the assembly line, the conveyor belt transports goods around the factory, to run at full (half) capacity, some of the work is still done manually, to pack by hand, to wrap and load onto pallets |
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Exercise 4.
Put the words in these questions in the correct order. Then match them with the answers to make a dialogue.
1. your / does / exactly / what / do / company?
2. kind / are / company / what / of / you?
3. are / markets / your / biggest / where?
4. do / many / plants / you / how / have?
5. company / people / employ / your / many / does / how?
6. has / long / in / how / been / business/ the company?
7. business / well/ going / is?
a. We export to Eastern Europe. Our domestic market accounts for about 40% of our total sales.
b. We manufacture electric generators for hospitals and small factories. We are among the largest in the country.
c. Yes it is, the company is doing well. It has a growing position in the market.
d. We’re a Joint Stock Company.
e. We have over 500 employees.
f. For over thirty years. The original company – NT Engineering – was founded in 1981.
g. We have five domestic plants and a number of technical support centers across Europe.
Exercise 5.
Role-play. Work in pairs. Student A: company’s executive. Student B: interviewer. You are discussing the company Student A works for. Use the notes below and expressions from Exercises 2 and 4 to prepare for the conversation.
| Company | Company’s history | Products | Workforce | Markets |
| BeLAZ OJSC | 1946 – the year of foundation; 1950 – the first trucks were produced | Mining dump trucks, special purpose vehicles, road building equipment | 12000 people; four domestic plants | 25% of the world mining dump trucks market, 70 countries, the largest consumers are Russia and the Ukraine |
| Minsk Tractor Works PA | 1946 – the year of foundation; 1953 – the first wheeled tractors were produced | Wheeled tractors, caterpillar tractors, municipal vehicles, forestry vehicles, minitractors | 30000 people, 8 domestic factories, technical support centers all over the world | 10% of the world wheeled tractors market, 60 countries, such as Russia, the Ukraine, China, India |
| Belshina OJSC | 1965 – the year of foundation; 1972 – the first tires were produced | Tires for cars, trucks, buses, tractors and agricultural machinery | 12000 people | Russia, Europe, Middle East, North and South America |
| BMZ PA | 1982 – the year of foundation; 1984 – the first steel products were made | Steel cord, pipes, cast-iron casting, wire production | 12000 people, 3 domestic plants | Russia, Poland, Germany, Sweden, the USA |
| BelOMA OJSC | 1957 – the year of foundation | Optical and opto-electronic devices, lenses, loupes, night vision devices | More than 1000 people | Russia, Germany, China, the USA, domestic consumers |
| Minsk Motor Plant PA | 1963 – the year of foundation | Diesel engines for cars, buses, tractors, dump trucks | 2000 people, 6 domestic plants | Russia, the Ukraine, domestic consumers such as MAZ, BeLAZ, Minsk Tractor Works |
| Minsk Automobile Plant OJSC | 1944 – the year of foundation; 1947 – the first trucks were produced | Fifth-wheel tractors, drop-side trucks, buses, chassis | 26000 people, 7 domestic plants, technical support centers all over the world | More than 30 countries the largest consumers are Russia and CIS-countries, Eastern European countries |
Exercise 6.
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