Vakuummash股份公司工厂发展史

Proud of Our Past. Creating the Future!

General Director of Vacuummash JSC
Evgeny Nikolaevich Kapustin

     The Kazan-based Vacuumash JSC has more than 80 years of history, which have enabled the company to manufacture reliable, high-quality, and technologically advanced vacuum equipment for many decades, including vacuum pumps, units, valves, vacuum gates, and traps under the Vacma brand. The company has passed a long and challenging path of development, thanks to which today Vacuumash JSC is among the enterprises contributing to the technological progress and future development of Russia and the CIS countries.
     Our enterprise, like many Soviet industrial facilities, was founded during the war years — in 1943. The history of Vacuumash dates back to the Resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) dated November 14, 1943, “On the Organization in Kazan of a Plant for Engine Repair and Production of Spare Parts for Tractors.” On December 1, 1943, the Bureau of the Tatar Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), by Protocol No. 302/19 adopted in furtherance of the Central Committee resolution, set the plant launch date as January 1, 1944. Today, some details of that resolution and its appendices may seem unusual — as everything was carefully planned, including not only the required number of employees and equipment but even the number of brooms, felt boots, mittens, and other supplies. However, at that time it was a matter of vital importance, and the launch of a new plant within just one month required the strictest discipline
      The war was ongoing, and the front required food supplies and spare parts. There was a critical shortage of machinery. Therefore, from the very first days of operation, the new plant became a key element in supporting agriculture in Tatarstan. In addition, tractors were an essential source of traction power for artillery at the front. The new workforce successfully accomplished the tasks assigned to them. Over time, other repair enterprises were incorporated into the plant, and the range of responsibilities expanded.
     After the Victory in 1945, in addition to tractor repair and spare parts production, the plant began manufacturing other essential agricultural machinery — brush cutters, potato harvesters, and even diesel power generators. Thus, during the first 15 years of its existence, Vacuumash was engaged in completely different activities and for some time was known as the Kazan Plant of Agricultural Engineering. That is why, on May 7, 2022, the President of the Republic of Tatarstan awarded Vacuumash JSC the honorary title of “Enterprise of Labor Valor. 1941–1945.”

     However, the country was developing, and completely new challenges had to be addressed — the advancement of the nuclear industry and the space sector. Today, it is difficult to determine exactly why our plant was chosen to solve the extremely complex task of developing and mastering an entirely new type of product — vacuum technology. Perhaps the decision was based on the plant’s successful performance, its strong engineering department, or other factors. Nevertheless, in accordance with the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR No. 126-132 dated June 30, 1959, and the Resolution of the Council of National Economy of the Tatar Economic Administrative Region No. P-175ss dated August 13, 1959, the creation of a new industrial sector in Kazan began — vacuum engineering. The task was extremely challenging: within only a few months, the plant had to switch to the production of fundamentally new products. It is particularly impressive that even at that time the goal was to develop and manufacture a wide range of vacuum equipment, including ultra-high vacuum pumps, vacuum components, and complete vacuum systems. Once again, the plant’s team successfully fulfilled the assigned mission.
     Naturally, such ambitious objectives required support and guidance from more experienced specialists. The archives preserve a copy of a letter from Academician S.A. Veksinskiy, one of the founders of Soviet vacuum science. In this letter, he established the highest standards of work, emphasized the unique characteristics of vacuum engineering compared with related industries, and laid the foundation for modern approaches to the development and manufacturing of vacuum equipment. Most importantly, he identified leading foreign companies as benchmarks and main competitors, setting the requirements for new vacuum technologies at the highest international level. This provided a powerful impetus for the further development of the plant. Studying historical documents, it is impossible not to recognize the comprehensive approach of the Soviet government to solving complex industrial challenges. It was clear that creating only a production facility was not enough to manufacture new equipment. New knowledge, new developments, and new specialists were required. Therefore, simultaneously with the establishment of the plant, the Special Design Bureau for Vacuum Equipment was created. Over the years, it underwent several reorganizations, developed together with the plant, and throughout the Soviet period remained a leading industry research and engineering institution developing vacuum technologies for various industrial sectors. Later, the Special Design Bureau (subsequently the Central Design Bureau for Vacuum Technology, SKB “Electrofizpribor”, and Research Institute Vacuumash) became part of Vacuumash and formed the core of the company’s engineering and design department.
     Soon after, a new academic specialty was introduced, and the department “Vacuum Engineering of Electrophysical Installations” was established at the Technological Institute (today — Kazan National Research Technological University). The department became a major training center for Vacuumash specialists. Many company managers and leading engineers received their education there and continue to make a significant contribution to the industry. As a result, Kazan became the leading center of vacuum engineering in the Soviet Union and continues to maintain this status in modern Russia. Kazan has everything necessary for this: a strong scientific foundation; its own educational school for training vacuum technology specialists;
     And today we proudly call: KAZAN — THE VACUUM CAPITAL OF RUSSIA!