Kulebaki Mining Plant is a metallurgical enterprise in Kulebaki, launched in 1866 and, by the end of the 19th century, the second-largest producer in the Nizhny Novgorod Governorate after the Sormovo works. From 1928 it bore the name of the Kulebaki Metallurgical Plant, and it is now part of Ruspolymet.
Founding
The plant was conceived by a local collegiate assessor, N. G. Fyodorov, and a Vyksa merchant, Borodachyov, who expected to smelt pig iron from the local ore using the local timber. Construction of the first blast furnace began in 1861 and it was put into operation in 1866 — the date that is considered the birthday of the enterprise.
In 1872 the plant passed to the Society of the Kolomna Machine-Building Plant, headed by the brothers Amand and Gustav Struve. The new owners made Kulebaki their main metallurgical base, supplying locomotive and railcar construction.
Heyday
The Struves built a closed production cycle: puddling, sheet-rolling, and steel-casting shops appeared. In 1877 the first tire-rolling shop in Russia was launched here — tires were fitted onto the wheel sets of locomotives and railcars, and demand for them grew along with the railways.
By 1897 the plant had five open-hearth furnaces. In terms of output, the enterprise had moved into second place in the governorate.
Soviet Years
On August 31, 1920, armor plates made at Kulebaki went into the first Soviet tank, the "Russky Renault."
Tire production remained the main business: the one-millionth tire was rolled in 1925 and the two-millionth in 1936, with the second million taking eleven years instead of the forty-six that the first had required.
During the Great Patriotic War, the plant supplied armor for T-34 tanks — hulls, turrets, and road wheels.
After the war the enterprise mastered rings for jet engines, including ones made of titanium alloys, and in 1966 it came under the Ministry of the Aviation Industry.
Today
In 2005, the open joint-stock company "Ruspolymet" was created on the basis of two enterprises. The plant produces special steels, titanium alloys, metal powders, and products for aviation and space; in 2016 it celebrated its 150th anniversary.
Sources
- ruspolymet.ru — Ruspolymet — History of the Enterprise. From a Mining Plant to High-Grade Metallurgy (archive)
- kulebaki.nobl.ru — Administration of the Kulebaki Urban Okrug — Activities: Industry of the Okrug (archive)
- mojgorod.ru — People's Encyclopedia of Russian Cities — Kulebaki (archive)