Petrostal, Kirovsky zavod
Kirovsky Zavod, the glowing gem of St. Petersburg, was founded in 1801 by the Emperor Paul I. In the beginning it was only an iron foundry producing artillery balls. The beginnings of engineering and art casting are known since 1812.
In 1868, entrepreneur N.I. Putilov took over the old mill and completely modernized outdated technology. That lead into a significant expansion of production possibilities including rails, train cars, weapons, construction and structural steel. In 1913 production of turbines and tractors was commissioned. During the war years the production was more oriented on military industry. Kirov plant produced the tank T-80 for the first time.
Due to the tense situation in 1941 major part of production has been moved to the famous "Tankograd" in Chelyabinsk (http://viktormacha.com/galerie/uraltrak-Chelyabinsk-207/ ). Although it should be noted that even during the long siege of Leningrad and massive bombing the production in Kirov plant never stopped.
After 1992, the plant becomes a joint-stock company and the steel mill continues under the name "Petrostal". The mill currently operates four 85 t open-hearth furnaces. Teemed ingots are further processed in the profile rolling mill.