History

It is the greatest happiness is to see your

thought turned into a living operation of such grandeur.

From Sergey Lebedev’s diary

From the second half of the 19th century, the rapidly developing industry faced the need for a new type of raw material – rubber. Rubber was required wherever it was necessary to combine elastic flexibility with reliable strength, where sealing, elasticity, and moisture resistance were needed.

In 1909 Sergey Lebedev proved that a rubber-like polymer can be produced from divinyl, and later, in 1928, together with a group of scientists – A.I. Yakubchik, I.A. Volzhinsky, A.M. Slobodkin and others, won the competition for synthetic rubber production, from that moment the era of the creation of the synthetic rubber industry began.

On January 17, 1931, the Council of Labor and Defense issued a resolution on construction of the first synthetic rubber plants, including the Kazan plant. On November 8, 1931, the first brick was laid in the foundation of the future plant.

The construction of the plant began in difficult economic conditions. Lack of experience, shortage of qualified specialists, low level of education of the workers, difficult conditions of their work and life – all this, of course, could not but affect both the pace and the quality of construction. Construction at that time was predominantly seasonal.

By the end of the 30s, 3 synthetic rubber plants were already operating in the country: Yaroslavl, Voronezh and Efremov plants. Kazan plant became the fourth, designated as “SK-4”. On July 16, 1932, the builders laid the foundations of the 1^st and 6^th production blocks, the next day laying of rubble stone foundation began on these sites. A sharp turn in the course of construction work occurred at the beginning of 1934. By that time, construction of the main production blocks of the plant was completed.

The need for synthetic rubber was constantly increasing with the industrial development of the country. Therefore, in 1934, the construction of Kazan Plant SK-4 was declared a top priority project. According to the decree of the People’s Commissariat for Heavy Industry of the USSR, signed by Sergo Ordzhonikidze, all building materials and equipment for this facility were to be released on priority basis.

Yaroslavl Synthetic Rubber Plant provided invaluable assistance in training Kazan workers and specialists to master the complex technology. Thus, at the beginning of 1936, a large group of Yaroslavl workers consisting of 160 operators and laboratory staff came to the Kazan plant to exchange experience and train young workers. Kazan engineering and technical workers were trained at similar plants. The workers of the Voronezh and Efremov plants also helped Kazan.

In July 1936, all construction work was mainly completed. In the place where once was an empty lot, now were new workshops, huge tanks and columns, intricate entanglement of pipes.

Kazan Plant SK-4 was launched on November 17, 1936.

Creation of the domestic synthetic rubber industry became the subject of special attention and concern on the part of the Communist Party and the Soviet government. An outstanding party figure, administrator of the industry, S.M. Kirov invested a lot of effort, hard work and energy in this important matter for the country.

On March 20, 1935, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the TASSR issued a decree on perpetuating the memory of S.M. Kirov: “In view of the numerous petitions of the Soviet, party and professional organizations of the TASSR to perpetuate the memory of comrade Sergei Mironovich Kirov, who died at the hands of a class enemy, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the TASSR hereby resolves as follows: to name the Kazan Plant SK-4 after comrade S.M. Kirov.”

ВЕХИ БОЛЬШОГО ПУТИ

1931	Foundation of the SK-4 plant laid
1932	Laying the foundation for the 1st and 6th SKB rubber production blocks
1935	The plant was named “Kazan Plant SK-4”
1936	Commissioning of the plant. The first shipments of SKB rubber received
1941	Production of Frigit, a frost-resistant additive for rubber products
1947	Production of the first batch of latex.
1960	Start of small-scale production of thiokol
1961	Start of production of silicone rubbers
1962	Start of production of polyesters
1965	Start-up of large-scale production of thiokol
1967	Start of urethane rubber production
1968	Start of production of rubber mixes
1971	Start of production of RETSAR, LETSAR silicone self-fusing materials
1972	Start of production of silicone sealants and compounds such as VIKSINT, VGO, IRP type silicone rubber mixes.
1978	Start of automotive gasket maker production
1982	Start of production of fluorosiloxane rubbers. Launch of a new production of polyesters and urethane polymers.
1993	Start of production of aluminum tubes.
1994	Start of production of thiokol sealants
2001	Start of production of more than 20 new products, including rubber mixes RSSO, SILIKON, MBSR, KT-80, mastics SG-1M, AM-05K, LT-1K.
2006	Registration of the MAXSIL trademark. Launch of the production of building polyurethane mastics, universal and professional silicone building sealants.
2010	Introduction of a new series of sealants for general construction applications. .
2011	Automation of production of automotive gasket maker on Simens and Nordek equipment; modernization of production of silicone sealants, thiokol sealants with HWA MAW MACHINE INDUSTRIAL Co. LTD equipment (Taiwan).
2012	Launch of a decanting section in workshop No. 26 using EA Westfalia Sepatator Process GmbH equipment (Germany) – transfer of wastewater drains from the Kaban lake to factory treatment facilities.
2013	Launch of an upgraded production facility in Dzerzhinsk for production of ethylene chlorohydrin, sodium hypochlorite
2015	Start of automation of SKB rubber production, launch of automated metering of sulfuric acid to coagulation based on computer process control and start of automated polycondensation process control in thiokol production
2019	The plant opened a new page in its history.