) –
closed joint-stock company
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders a ...
, industry = Household appliances
, founded = in
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
,
Byelorussian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор ...
, founder = Council of Ministers of the
Byelorussian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор ...
, hq_location_city = Minsk
, hq_location_country =
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
, key_people = Viktor Stepanovich Shumilo (CEO)
, products = refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, and other products
, brands = Atlant, Minsk
, website =
Atlant (Belarusian Атлант) is a company, based in
Minsk, Belarus
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
, which makes household appliances, and also the brand of those appliances. It is one of the leading manufacturers of household appliances in the
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
.
The company consists of three plants, the oldest and most important being the Minsk Refrigerator Plant ( be, Мінскі завод халадзільнікаў), which produces household and commercial refrigerators and freezers, and by which name the entire enterprise is sometimes called. An abbreviated name for this plant is MZKh ( be, МЗХ), and ''Minsk'' is the former brand used for the company's refrigerators.
In addition, Atlant owns and operates the
Baranovichi
Baranavichy ( ; be, Бара́навічы, Łacinka: , ; russian: Бара́новичи; yi, באַראַנאָוויטש; pl, Baranowicze) is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus, with a population (as of 2019) of 179,000. It is not ...
Machine-Tool Plant (which produces compressors, technological systems for plastics processing, and conveyor systems) and the Household Appliances Plant (which produces washing machines and other electrical appliances).
History
Background
Production of domestic refrigerators lagged in the Soviet Union compared to some other countries. The first Soviet domestic refrigerators were produced at the
Kharkov Tractor Factory
Kharkiv Tractor Plant (KhTZ or HTZ) ( uk, Харківський тракторний завод, translit=Kharkivskyi Traktornyi Zavod) is an agricultural machinery manufacturer in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Established in 1930-31, as a center ...
in 1937, but
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
soon caused production to be halted. This, and the subsequent devastation of Soviet industry, delayed the mass production of refrigerators until the 1960s, while
icebox
An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...
es continued in common use.
[ ]
Authorization for the building of a plant in Minsk to produce electric refrigerators was established by the Council of Ministers of the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор ...
by resolution 554 on August 24, 1959. The location selected for the plant was near Victory Park in the northwest sector of Minsk, which at that time was in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
Under the Soviet Union
The first refrigerator (a CRS-125 Minsk-1 (russian: ХКС-125 Минск-1)) was delivered in June 1962.
[ These were the first modern Soviet refrigerators with incorporated freezers and polyurethane insulation. Mass production of Minsk-2 refrigerators began in 1964. By 1971, production facilities had been expanded, and the factory's one millionth refrigerator was produced in that year.
]
In 1973, the Minsk-7 refrigerator was first produced. This model included polyurethane foam insulation, and with it began the export of refrigerators to countries outside the Soviet bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
. A consignment of refrigerators was delivered to Greece in 1973, and in the following years models were exported to France, England, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Australia,[ and also to Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, China, and Spain and elsewhere – a total of 21 countries.][ ]
In 1974, the first Minsk-17 freezer was produced, and in 1976 the Minsk Refrigerator Plant was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
for the design and production of high quality household refrigerators. In 1977 the umbrella organization Atlant was created,[ consisting of the Minsk Refrigerator Plant as the parent company, and also the ]Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...
Refrigerator Plant in Russia and the Alytus
Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2022 was 53,925. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The maj ...
Refrigerator Plant and Mažeikiai
Mažeikiai (; Samogitian: ''Mažeikē''; lv, Mažeiķi) is a city in northwestern Lithuania, on the Venta River. It has a population of around 43,547, making it the eighth largest city in Lithuania. The city is the administrative center of Ma ...
Compressor Plant, both in Lithuania. In 1979, the factory's one millionth refrigerator was exported, and in 1987, the factory's ten millionth refrigerator was produced.
Post-Soviet crisis and survival
The collapse of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
disrupted Atlant's ties with suppliers, markets, and constituent plants, and almost led to the demise of the company, but it survived and eventually thrived.[ ] With the independence of Belarus and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990, Atlant was reduced to just the Minsk Refrigerator Plant, but in that same year the Baranovichi Machine-Tool Plant for the production of compressors for refrigerators and freezers was founded as part of Atlant. In 1993 Atlant was reformed as a corporation consisting of the Minsk Refrigerator Factory and Baranovichi Machine-Tool Plant, and the first batch of compressors was shipped by the Baranovichi Plant. In 1994 Atlant produced its one millionth compressor.
In 1995, preparation for production of refrigerators and freezers with the ozone-friendly refrigerant R134a
1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane (also known as norflurane (INN), R-134a, Freon 134a, Forane 134a, Genetron 134a, Green Gas, Florasol 134a, Suva 134a, or HFC-134a) is a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) and haloalkane refrigerant with thermodynamic properties ...
commenced, and in 1997 production of these types began. Also in 1997, upgrades were made to the Baranovichi Plant's production, transport, storage, and assembly systems. In 1998 the first 700 Series refrigerators were produced, and the first two-compressor refrigerator, the MXM-1704.
Also in 1998, the Belarus State Committee on Standardization, Measurement, and Certification issued the Minsk Refrigerator Plant a certificate of compliance to ISO 9001-96 for the design, manufacture, and servicing of refrigerators and freezers and an ISO 9002
ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization.
ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance
* Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007
* Iso ...
certificate of compliance for quality management systems. In 1999 the Minsk Refrigerator Plant was awarded a quality prize by the government, to be followed by similar prizes in 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, and other years.
21st century
In 2001, the Minsk Refrigerator Plant began producing refrigerated cabinets with glass doors[ (such as are used in stores to cool and display soda bottles and so forth). Also in 2001, the Baranovichi Plant delivered its first production batch of equipment for plastics processing - the BZST 125/250 injection molding models - and produced its ten millionth compressor. And in the same year, the Republic of Belarus issued the Minsk Refrigerator Plant a certificate of compliance with the ISO 14001-2000 environmental management standard and confirmed the previously issued ISO 9001-96 certificate.
In 2003, the Household Appliances Plant produced the first Atlant washing machines. The Minsk Refrigerator Plant was issued a certificate of compliance with ISO 9001-2000 by the government, and commenced production of small lightweight mini-refrigerators, for use in offices, hotel rooms, etc.][ In 2004, production began of the New Wave model refrigerators with electronic controls and displays, and the Household Appliances Plant produced the first Atlant ranges with flat glass-ceramic cooktops. In 2005, the Baranovichi Plant produced the first Atlant ]electric kettle
A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a type of pot specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle'', or a small electric kitchen appliance of similar shape that functions in a self-contained ...
s, and in 2006 Atlant produced its 25 millionth refrigerator and 20 millionth compressor.
In 2008, the Baranovichi Plant was commissioned to produce a new line of high-performance compressors under license from the Danish firm Danfoss
Danfoss is a Danish multinational company, based in Denmark, with more than 40,043 employees globally. Danfoss was founded in 1933 by engineer Mads Clausen.
History Beginning (1933–1966)
In 1933 Mads Clausen (1905–1966) founded ''Dansk ...
. The Minsk Refrigerator Plant produced its first built-in refrigerators, the XM 4007, and a Class A energy efficiency model which reduced energy consumption up to 30%. 2009 saw the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Minsk Refrigerator Plant; in the same year, the plant launched a refrigerator line using equipment from the German company Eisenmann which allows refrigerators to be painted in various colors, and produced the Atlant XM 6016 of energy efficiency Class A+.
The Minsk Refrigerator Plant now produces many types of refrigerators and freezers, with various differences in capacity (from 30 to 400 liters), functional capabilities (single-chamber and dual-chamber, with top or bottom location of the freezer, with one or two compressors), and market segment (domestic and commercial). Atlant also produces 26 models of washing machines, two models of electric kettles, and gas and electric stoves. Products under the Atlant brand have long been popular and known far beyond the borders of the Republic of Belarus.[ As of 2015, Atlant refrigerators are exported to the nine other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, nine other countries in Europe, and Mongolia.][
The ATLANT trademark wins the first place in the Refrigerator category at the Success Favorites – 2012 International Contest in Ukraine (the contest purpose is to recognize the most successful trademarks in the Ukrainian market). The company's existing quality management system is recertified in the National System for Conformity Attestation, with the certificate issued. For the Minsk Refrigerator Plant and the Household Appliance Plant, the existing quality management system is certified in the German Accreditation System (DAkkS), with the certificate issued.
The 63rd Series of refrigerators with the Super fresh box (the freshness zone) is launched in production.
Since April 2013, the CT series compressors designed in-house were launched into production; these compressors are suitable for producing refrigerators with energy efficiency class of A+++.
In 2014, Atlant freezers won the award for Best of the Year in the freezers category at the international Best of the Year competition held in the Ukraine.][ ]
Notes
References
*
External links
Atlant website
{{in lang, be
1959 establishments in Belarus
Home appliance manufacturers of Belarus
Buildings and structures in Minsk
Companies based in Minsk
Manufacturing companies established in 1959
Belarusian brands
Manufacturing companies of the Soviet Union
Soviet brands