Manufacturing industry makes up the major part of the aggregate product of the Republic with 68­70%, thus ensuring its decisive influence on the economic and social development. The largest branches of industry are machine­building and metalworking, chemical and petrochemical industries, oil production and electrical energy. In the first half of 1996 the leaders in volumes of manufacturing production (in Russian Roubles) were chemistry and petrochemistry (28.7%) fuel (22.8%), machinebuilding and metalworking (17.6), electrical energy (13.9) and food industry (7.9%).

The leading sectors of machine building of Tatarstan are automotive aircraft industries and instrument­making.

Automotive industry is represented by Kamsky Motor Works (KamAZ), a joint stock company located in the city of Naberezhnye Chelny. KamAZ is the biggest industrial amalgamation of the Republic and one of the biggest in the CIS. It employs some 1/5 of the industrial labour force of Tatarstan and manufactures trucks and cars. Besides, KamAZ manufactures engines which it uses for its own needs and supplies to other automotive enterprises of Russia and foreign countries. Recently the production of truck tractors has been mastered.

Aircraft industry came to Tatarstan in the middle of the 1930s. Today it includes aircraft, helicopter, aircraft engine and instrument­making companies located in Kazan.

Instrument­making is involved in production of heat­measuring, optical, electrical­mechanical, medical, radiometric and other instruments and devices.

The Republic also manufactures compressors, vacuum and refrigerating equipment, calculating devices, oil and chemical equipment, medical instruments, garage equipment, public amenities and sanitary equipment, liftingtransport machinery, ships and other vessels, forestry and construction equipment. There are companies engaged in repairing vessels and motor vehicles.

Petrochemistry prevails in the structure of chemical and petrochemical industries of the Republic possessing 73.3%. The major petrochemical products are synthetic rubbers and tires, while the major chemical products are plastics, synthetic resins and chemical photo products.

In 1995, crude oil production made up 25,692.2 thousand tons, of which 28% is refined in the Republic. The main export oil products are furnace oil and diesel fuel. For seven months of 1996 the Republic has produced 14,964 thousand tons of crude oil, 518 thousand tons of diesel fuel, 1639.1 thousand tons of furnace oil and 299.6 thousand tons of liquefied gas.

The Republic is actively participating in solving the problem of increasing Ihe depth of crude oil processing. For instance, it is planned to reconstruct oil treatment unit at "Nizhnekamskneftekhim", to launch gasoline unit at the existing premises of the Minnibayevsky gas­processing plant, to set up mini oil refineries.

The energy complex produces 22.7 bln kW/h (1995) of electrical energy thus fully covering the needs of the Republic.

Consumer goods are manufactured by 513 companies of different forms of ownership.

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Tatarstan companies