In 1722, the new sawmill, established on a site designated by Peter the Great's decree of May 22, 1719, marked the beginning of the development of the industry that soon emerged a long side it, namely the iron, copper, anchor and hammer factories allocated to the Admiralty, and hence it was called the 'Admiral Izohora Factory'. From its foundation, the company was state-owned.
Initially limited to cutting timber, the company later needed different products for the fleet. In 1760, a brick factory was built, in 1770 seven sawmills, an anchor repairshop, a hammer factory for melting and forging iron, a milling factory and a cement grinding factory for the construction of the Kronstadt canal; in 1781, a flattening machine for the production of copper and iron sheet was delivered from England; two furnaces for heating copper sheet, ten furnaces for forging nails and small forgings, a stone foundry and a bridge over the Izhora River were built.
From 1800, when a special decree was issued for the expansion of the forests owned by the Izhora mill, the latter experienced a tremendous recovery and growth. Instead of primitive wooden buildings, stone workshops and mills were built. At that time, the mill employed 823 people.
In 1803, as part of the technical redevelopment, a machine-building factory was built on the foundations of the old mill.
Built between 1803 and 1804 according to plans by Scottish architect Vasily Geste, the factory office was one of the first buildings in the factory reconstruction program. Geste also designed the workshop building, which was built according to the reconstruction plans. Due to Geste's technical needs, a stone factory dam was also built on the Izhora River in collaboration with K.K. Gascoyne.
The company produced Russia's first combshells, wheeled steamers and naval vessels; in1818, the first Russian wheeled military steamer 'Fast' with a vertical steam engine was built; in 1832, the first Russian steam engine with a crank mechanism for the military steamer 'Hercules' was built at the factory.
From the mid-19th century, the Izhora factory became an important supplier of armor for the Russian fleet and coastal fortifications. Torpedo boats and destroyers were also built at the factory. Between 1878 and 1900, 19 destroyers, including oil-fueled destroyers, and five minesweepers were built.
During the Soviet period, the factory's workers actively participated in the revolutionary movement. On the night of October 24-25 (November 6-7) 1917, 17 armored cars from the Izhora factory were sent to the command of the Military Revolutionary Committee. But relations with the Soviet government were marred: on May 9, 1918, Red Guards shot dead the factory's workers protesting against Bolshevik policies.
In 1919, a battalion of Izhora workers defended Petrograd against attacks by General Yudenich's troops.
In the 1920s, the factory's chief engineer was A.N. Farflin, the country's top expert on ship armor and production technology.
In 1933, the Central 1st Armored Research Institute (CBL-1) was established at the Izhora plant. Its director was Zabiyarov Andrei Sergeyevich. The tasks of the institute were:
- development of scientifically based armor production processes for mass production.
- development of new brands of armored steel for warships, tanks, aviation and border fortifications.
Among the employees of the Institute were Danilefsky O.F., Delle V.A., Smolensky S.A., Smolensky S.I., Kapilin G.I. In 1939, the Central Institute of Metallurgy and Armor (CNII-1) was founded on the basis of CBL-48.
During the pre-war Five-Year Plans (1929-1940), the first Soviet bloomings were produced at this plant, as well as cranks and eccentric presses for car and tractor factories were produced, and the production of large forgings was established.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Izola Battalion was formed from the factory workers, which was later made into a movie; from 1941-1944, Red Army soldiers fought heroically against the Nazis in the suburbs of Leningrad. The Izhora plant produced tank shells, armored vehicles, ammunition and armored pillboxes.
After the war, a new metallurgical plant was built, the machine assembly plant was renovated and expanded, high-performance automatic rolling mills were built, power equipment production was established, and more than 100 new technologically advanced machines and products were produced. In 1970, production increased by over 50% (compared to 1965).
The factory was awarded two Lenin Medals (1940 and 1971) and the Order of the Red Flag of Labor (1947).
In 1992, the enterprise Izhorskiye Zavody was privatized, and in 1999 it became part of Objedinennye Mashinostroitelnye Zavody (OMZ).
In 2006, OMZ, with the support of the municipal authorities, began preparations for the implementation of the federal target program "Development of the nuclear industry in Russia by 2007-2010 and 2015", purchased land for the powerplant and terminated the contract with the tenant. Of the 670 hectares of the Izola powerplant in Korpino, 420 hectares are used by 138 third-party companies unrelated to OMZ. 67 are owners of industrial facilities and structures, 40 are tenants and 31 are contractors OMZ is a member of the Association of Oil and Gas Equipment Manufacturers Member.
In 2007, Rosatom tempted to acquire the Izola plant and incorporate it into Atomenergomash, but no deal was reached.
In January 2009, Sberbank of Russia became the nominal owner of a controlling stake in Izhorskiye Zavody OJSC. The current largest share holder is OMZ OJSC, which directly owns 75.44% of the company's shares (2014). The transfer of shares was made at the end of 2007 as collateral for a loan of RUB 2.38 billion.
In November 2021, Izhorskiye Zavody manufactured and delivered at sea a reaction vessel for Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 in Turkey. The price of the reaction vessel is approximately RUB 3 billion, based on a contract signed in 2017.[4]
Operations
The company is primarily a heavy industry factory. It specializes in engineering, production, sales and maintenance of equipment and machines for the nuclear power, oil and gas, and mining industries, and in production of special steels and equipment for other industries. Production includes metal tanks, boilers, pressure vessels of nuclear reactors, and devices for distillation, filtering or purification of liquids and gases. It has produced the reactor vessels for the first Russian floating nuclear power stationAkademik Lomonosov.[5]
OMZ employs some 16,500 people. A recent Expert magazine ranking placed OMZ among Russia's 400 largest companies. Izhorsky Zavody factory is an important part of the St. Petersburg economy.
References
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