Company history

1857

Establishment of the plant

The plant was founded on June 21, 1857. On this day, the Office of the St. Petersburg Governor General registered a Kunz-Chopin plant for the manufacture of bronze items at the 5th quarter of the Vasilyevskaya Part (area of the current 24th and 25th VO lines). On December 10, 1858, Felix Chopin, a merchant of the second guild and manufacturer, was granted permission to build a building for a steam boiler, two melting furnaces, several furnaces and a product cleaning workshop

Saint Petersburg

Felix Chopin

A talented hereditary foundry from France, Felix Chopin came to St. Petersburg in 1838 to work as foundry manager Alexander Guerin and, by the time he started his own business, he had earned the status of Supplier to His Imperial Majesty's Court.

The heyday of production

The Chopin factory is a contractor for significant government orders: lighting fixtures and decorative elements for the Moscow Kremlin, the Winter, Marble, Tsarskoye Selo and Gatchina Palaces, the front doors of St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Close cooperation has been established with the Imperial Porcelain Factory. Chopin takes an active part in various domestic and international exhibitions. Thus, in 1862, at the World's London Exhibition, his statue of Catherine II won a medal for its highest manufacturing technique. 11 years later, it would serve as a model for making a monument to the Empress erected in front of the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.

1870s

Chopin is gradually retiring, and the production is eventually taken over by Westphalian Union Joint-Stock Company. Under the control of Schilling, a Prussian citizen, the enterprise's territory is expanding, equipment is being updated, and the production range is developing. Since 1875, the Chopin factory has been renamed the St. Petersburg Wire and Nail Factory by L. Bergert.”

At the turn of the century

In 1904, the plant became part of the Donetsk-Yuriev Metallurgical Society (DUMO), one of the largest industrial associations in the Russian Empire. By 1909, the plant's technical equipment had reached its pre-revolutionary peak: more than 200 metalworking and nail machines, more than 70 presses, and 20 cable machines. The production employed 1,600 people, which is almost seven times more than in 1883 (235 people). In 1914, the plant's capitalization (the cost of land, buildings and equipment) was estimated at 5.5 million rubles.

A revolution. Before and after

Despite visible achievements, the company was not spared by pre-revolutionary unrest. In 1916, workers at the Wire and Nail Plants gathered at the Vasileostrovsky Theater and went on strike indefinitely. Together, they managed to meet a number of requirements: the introduction of an eight-hour working day and disability and old-age insurance, the abolition of fines, and an increase in wages. Two years later, on June 28, 1918, by decree of the Council of People's Commissars “St. Petersburg Wire and Nail Factory L. Bergert” was nationalized and renamed the “Red Nailer”.
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Since this plant is one of the plants of the Donetsk-Yuriev Society that is still privately leased, and there is no way to actually nationalize them, the Presidium of the Production Management Board suggests that the VSNH Metal Department resolve the issue of nationalizing this society on an all-Russian scale.

The course towards industrialization

In the 1920s and 1930s, a large-scale reconstruction of the plant took place. Three new workshops equipped with modern equipment are being built in a short time: rope, steel wire and hot-rolling. The expansion of the range of products, the renewal of production facilities and the development of advanced technologies has dramatically reduced the need for foreign purchases (or, as they say now, contributed to import substitution) and was highly appreciated by the country's leadership. On May 22, 1940, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Krasny Gvozilshchik plant was renamed the Steel Rolling Wire and Cable Plant named after M. V.M. Molotov”.

The Great Patriotic War

Responding to the challenge of the times, the plant promptly began producing products for the military industry and defense. While under blockade, the company produced parts for communication equipment, assault rifles, grenades, mortars, and tanks. 904 tons of armored cable wire were manufactured for the underwater cable across Lake Ladoga (Road of Life).

In just eight months of 1942, production increased almost 20-fold: from 35 tons in May to 649 tons in December.

By the beginning of 1943, the company employed 1,115 people, and ¾ of its staff consisted of women.

At the facilities of the central plant laboratory, vitamin C was produced from pine needles (a total volume of 35,000 liters) for the needs of workers and employees. A 20-hectare subsidiary farm was set up in Toksovsky District. In 1943, the plant was awarded a certificate of honor for its high yield in private and public gardens.

In addition to performing direct duties in workshops and production, the plant's employees actively participated in cleaning the city from debris and destruction, restoring infrastructure and housing.

After the war

In 1948, a new stage in the modernization of the plant was launched. The work is being carried out in two areas: renewing the capacities of the main and auxiliary workshops and improving working conditions. As a result, by 1958, there had been a nine-fold increase in production and a six-fold increase in labor productivity. The company is developing a wide range of new products. From raw materials and small parts for clockworks, musical instruments and razor blades to ropes for the Bratsk and Kuibyshev hydroelectric power stations and profile tape for metro escalators.

In order to better interact between the team and the company's management, annual production and technical conferences are organized.

In 1957, the plant celebrated its centenary. On July 19 this year, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

1960s

According to a resolution of the Supreme Council of the National Economy of the RSFSR, a completely new full-cycle metallurgical plant and a specialized laboratory are being built. Their task: development and production of precision alloys. A trial batch was released in 1965. Over the next few years, streaming production of about 50 items of precision metal products was launched.

At the same time, the plant was gasified, the level of manual labor was significantly reduced, and a central laboratory for measuring equipment and a chemical water treatment plant were opened. In five years, by 1970, the total volume of manufactured products had increased from 2 to 429 tons.

1970s

After the planned reconstruction and modernization of the precision alloy workshop, its productivity increased by 300%. The plant occupies a leading position among suppliers of instrument-making enterprises throughout the Soviet Union (40 items of unique products). Its products are purchased by eight countries around the world: Cuba, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Libya, and Turkey.

The plant's production facilities make it possible to produce 11 types of metal products from 87 steel grades in accordance with 82 GOSTs and 200 specifications. In absolute terms, this is 116,000 tons, including 46,000 tons of hot-rolled steel and 70,000 tons of hardware.

New time

Restructuring, the transition to market relations, and global economic and political changes have become a serious challenge for the plant. First of all, this was reflected in a catastrophic drop in demand for manufactured products. But even in the most difficult moments, the company did not stop operating; the production facilities were redesigned to produce goods that were in demand at that time and more technically simpler types of products. Work was carried out to optimize, find sales markets, restore old ones and establish new ones.

2007 and modern times

Steel Rolling Plant OJSC is celebrating its 150th anniversary and marking the start of a new stage in its history. As part of a large-scale optimization of production, St. Petersburg Precision Alloy Plant LLC was established, which, thanks to a well-designed strategy, based on many years of experience and production traditions, is rapidly occupying a leading position in the metallurgical industry and to this day remains the country's leading enterprise in the production of precision alloys.

The history of the plant

1857