Podolsk Mechanical Plant (PMZ; russian: Подольский механический завод, Podol'skiy Mekhanicheskiy Zavod) was a mechanical plant in

Podolsk Podolsk ( rus, Подольск, p=pɐˈdolʲsk) is an industrial city, center of Podolsk Urban Okrug, Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pakhra River (a tributary of the Moskva River). History The first mentions of the village of Podol, w ...

, Russia.

History

The Podolsk factory was established in 1900 as ''Kompaniya Singer'', the Russian branch of the

Singer Corporation Singer Corporation is an American manufacturer of consumer sewing machines, first established as I. M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac M. Singer with New York lawyer Edward C. Clark. Best known for its sewing machines, it was renamed Singer Ma ...

. It was the sole sewing machine factory in the Russian Empire, and by 1914 it employed over 5,000 workers. The company was nationalized after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, and it was renamed ''Zavod imeni Kalinina'' to commemorate a visit to the factory by

Mikhail Kalinin Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (russian: link=no, Михаи́л Ива́нович Кали́нин ; 3 June 1946), known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych", was a Soviet politician and Old Bolshevik revolutionary. He served as head of s ...

. The first motorcycles were built in the factory in February 1934. In 1935 they commenced series production of the

PMZ-A-750 The PMZ-A-750 (Russian: ПМЗ-А-750) was a pre-World War II heavy motorcycle produced in the USSR by the PMZ (motorcycle), PMZ factory. History The PMZ-A-750 was the first heavy motorcycle manufactured in the Soviet Union. It was designed in t ...

which had been design by Pyotr Mozharov at NATI, for the Soviet Army. The factory was partially evacuated in Autumn 1941. In 1942, the plant was re-established as an ammunition manufacturing site. The production of sewing machines resumed in late 1945. The company became ''Kontsern Podolsk'' in 1990 and was privatized in 1991. In August 1994 a controlling stake in the plant was sold to

Semi-Tech International Semi-Tech Microsystems or Semi-Tech Microsystems (STM) was a Canadian-based household and consumer products firm in Markham, Ontario. Semi-Tech Corporation's former head offices were at 131 McNabb Street (Warden Avenue and 14th Ave ...

. After the takeover by the Canadian company, thousands were fired, and the workforce dropped from 18,000 to 2,000 workers. The factory was broken up into three entities: ZAO "Industrial Sewing Machines Plant", CJSC "Domestic Sewing Machines Plant" and CJSC "Foundry". By late 2003, the Industrial Sewing Machines Plant was practically liquidated and merged with the Domestic Sewing Machines Plant.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * "Entsiklopediya Mototsiklov. Firmi. Modeli. Konstruktsii.", Za Rulem, Moscow (2003). Энциклопедия Мотоциклов. Фирмы. Модели. Конструкции. - За Рулем - Москва (2003) p.434-5 Defunct motorcycle manufacturers of Russia Motorcycle manufacturers of the Soviet Union Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1935 1935 establishments in the Soviet Union Companies based in Moscow Oblast Companies nationalised by the Soviet Union {{motorcycle-stub