Kazan gunpowder factory: history of formation

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

FKP "Kazan Gunpowder Plant" is a large defense industry enterprise specializing in the production of gunpowder, charges, pyrotechnics and other products. Over the 228-year history, millions of tons of explosives for various purposes have been fired here.

Founding a business

With the development of the eastern lands of Russia, there is a need to build a gunpowder plant closer to the main consumers: explorers, merchants, miners. Kazan was chosen as a place for construction, which is located in the center of water and land routes. Ammunition was delivered along the Kama to the Urals, then to Siberia, and along the Volga to the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea.

Kazan gunpowder factory started operating in 1788. Considering the fire hazard of the enterprise, at first they entrusted to work on it people responsible and able to handle ammunition: soldiers and officers. Later, a specialized school was organized, where the children of military personnel were taught a dangerous craft. A Powder settlement was formed around the workshops, here the workers were allocated plots for housing.

Support of the Fatherland

Kazan gunpowder factory was loaded with work during military conflicts, which are rich in Russian history. Wars with Sweden, Turkey, Napoleon, European campaigns demanded an increase in productivity. This was achieved by expanding production. The enterprise grew, new shops were opened, and later a railway was built to the plant. During the first 100 years of operation, the plant produced 2 million pounds of gunpowder.

By the end of the 19th century, the KPZ carried out a number of upgrades and mastered the production of smokeless pyroxylin powder. Every year, the enterprise produced volumes unprecedented for that time - up to 500,000 pounds.

Country of Soviets

After the chaos of the Civil War, the enterprise gradually gained momentum. Active rearmament in the 1930s contributed to the development of the material and technical base. The Kazan Gunpowder Factory met World War II fully armed. Ammunition was sorely lacking. Day and night, seven days a week, workers produced the necessary gunpowder and charges. Most of the men went to defend their homeland, women and teenagers stood behind the machines.

The war has shown that the army needs more effective ammunition. The engineers of the Special Technical Bureau No. 40 took up the development of new components. They created samples of "revolutionary" explosives with characteristics unique for that time. Artillerymen praised the products of the KPZ for reliability and the highest quality. The factory workers were especially proud of the charges for the Katyushas.

Recent Times

In the 90s, the company faced a lack of demand for products. Management confusion led to the threat of bankruptcy. In 2002, the government decided to restore production. The Kazan State State Gunpowder Plant acquired its current name in 2002 after a large-scale reorganization. In 2003, a much-needed $50 million subsidy was made available to pay off debts and restart ammunition production. Today, the bullpen is a strategic, federally owned plant.

Emergencies

For two centuries, accidents have happened more than once in an explosive production. History knows the fires that led to the massive detonation of ammunition in 1830 and 1884.

14.08.1917 a real catastrophe occurred - due to fire, the Kazan gunpowder factory literally flew into the air. The director, Lieutenant General Luknitsky, almost the entire administration, hundreds of factory workers, dozens of residents of the Powder Sloboda died. 10,000 machine guns and millions of ready-made shells were destroyed. I had to start production from scratch.

2017-24-03 A charge detonated in shop No. 3, frightening the residents of Kazan. The flaming flames and cubes of smoke were visible from all areas of the city. People died.

Modernization

The gunpowder plant (Kazan) was included in the list of defense industry enterprises, where it is planned to re-equip production by 2020. The last time a significant reconstruction at the bullpen was carried out 30 years ago. CEO Khalil Giniyatov claims that toIn 2020, it will be a modern, high-tech, safe plant for the production of high-energy powders.

At a number of sites, automated complexes replaced tens and hundreds of workers. For example, in the nitration department, the new complex controls the operation of several key components: a hammer mill (grinding cellulose), an acid wetting agent and a 20 cc reactor. Previously, all dangerous operations were carried out manually. Today, one operator monitors the entire process in complete safety on a computerized control panel.

Production

Kazan Gunpowder Plant is actively working on the domestic and foreign markets. It produces 100 tons of gunpowder per month. Production provides income for 2000 people.

For military purposes bullpen produces:

• gunpowder of various kinds;
• paint products;
• nitromastics;
• other chemical materials for organizing the production of ammunition.

KPZ also sells "peaceful" products:

• hunting and sporting cartridges;
• grounding anodes for cathodic protection of pipelines and underground metal structures.

Geography of deliveries is extensive. These are defense and civil enterprises of Russia (Yoshkar-Ola, Izhevsk, Sarapul, Votkinsk, Klimovsk, Sergiev Posad, Lyubertsy, Khimki, Yekaterinburg, Severouralsk), Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Cyprus, Venezuela, India, Algeria, Uganda and other countries. For the stable production of high quality and safepowder plant (Kazan) in 2012 was awarded by the government of Tatarstan the highest award of the competition "Quality Leader".