Voronezh Excavator Works

(full name, Comintern Voronezh Excavator Works), one of the largest machine-building plants in the USSR. Manufactures crawler-mounted excavators (including excavators for work under the conditions of the Far North). The plant was established in 1915 after the evacuation from Riga to Voronezh of the Rikhard-Pole firm’s small enterprise, which had been founded in 1870 and was largely unmechanized. After the plant was nationalized in April 1920, it manufactured equipment for the food industry and economizers, steam boilers, and water purifiers for the Shatura and Kashira power plants. The plant was named after the Comintern in 1922. During the Great Patriotic War (1941-45) the equipment of the enterprise was evacuated to the eastern part of the country. The plant was almost totally destroyed during the occupation. In 1943 restoration work was begun, and a large tank repair base was established; and in 1944 armament was manufactured. In 1945 the plant manufactured asphalt concrete mixers, rock crushers, and guillotine shears. In 1947 the plant switched over to the manufacture of crawler-mounted excavators and cranes. Production capacity tripled between 1959 and 1968. The plant was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1965.