Saving memory can be done in different ways. The most significant monument for the Gurevsky Metallurgical Plant is its history. The history of foundation and development, heroic deeds and everyday labor weekdays. History, long become a memory and a instructive lesson for all generations of metallurgists of this oldest industrial enterprise in Siberia.
The outstanding French writer Honore de Balzac, who was a contemporary of the old Gurevsky plant, wrote: "We have our own court of cassation - this is the future. Happy is the one who can appear before it." The verdict of time for GMZ is unambiguous: viability, resilience, constant renewal and therefore - imperviousness to time.
The Gurevsky Metallurgical Plant is its own name, its place in history, its own, unlike anything else, "character". GMZ has entered the lives of many thousands of people not as a physical, material concept, but as a moral concept defining mutual devotion, honesty, confidence in each other. In the closely intertwined destinies of the plant and its workers - luck and disappointments, losses and achievements, defeats and victories.
To rise after all the devastation and stagnation, to find not only a second, third life, but also, undoubtedly, its own uniqueness, the plant was able, primarily thanks to people - gifted, purposeful, persistent, ready to risk and even self-sacrifice for the sake of the cause, endowed with such qualities as strong will, innovation, and resilience of spirit.
Patriarch of Siberian metallurgy
1816 Launch of the plant. During one construction season, 4 silver smelting furnaces were built, which on November 15 issued the first batch of enriched silver concentrate.
1826 The first blast furnace was put into operation at the Gurevsky plant. A year later, a cryogenic factory was built. Production of iron products for industry and agriculture began.
1840 The iron-making department replaced the silver-smelting one, and the Gurevsky metallurgical plant became a black metallurgy enterprise - the only one in Western Siberia.
1848 The Gurevsky Metallurgical Plant began to produce bulat steel using Pavel Anosov's method. The plant's products were exhibited at the World Exhibition in London and received high awards.
1860 The first mechanical factory in the East of Russia was commissioned, where steam engines were produced with a power of up to one hundred horsepower, as well as drilling, turning, and other machines.
1921 Construction of a railway branch was completed.
1922 The bloomery was restored, and the first cast iron produced in Russia exclusively from stone coal was obtained. A souvenir for V.I. Lenin was made from it, which has been kept in the Kremlin ever since.
1924 A 5-ton Martin furnace was built at the Gurevsky metallurgical plant, and the first Martin steel in Siberia was obtained.
1925 The first rolled product was obtained at the Gurevsky plant. The metallurgical cycle at the enterprise became completely closed.
1929 The plant became a construction site for the Kuznetsk Metallurgical Combine. A vocational school was opened at the Gurevsky plant to provide the young enterprise with personnel.
1931 The second Martin furnace was built at the Gurevsky metallurgical plant.
1932 The bolt and rivet shop was built.
1933 Production of steel grinding balls began at the Gurevsky plant.
1938 GMZ started producing beds, and a bed shop was built.
1939 The sheet mill and household goods shop were put into operation.
1941 During the war years, the Gurevsky plant produced complex types of shaped rolled products for the aviation industry, metal for weapons, made mine casings, trench stoves, and army beds.
1945-1965 Years of mechanization of labor-intensive processes, mainly carried out by its own efforts.
1965-1966 The first reconstruction of the Martin shop.
1966 The Gurevsky Metallurgical Plant was named after Mikhail Konstantinovich Kurako.
1970-1978 Reconstruction of the rolling mill.
1993 A new ball rolling shop was built.
1997-2004 Second reconstruction of the Martin shop.
2005-2007 The technology of smelting chromium and low-alloy grades of steel and the technology for producing balls of increased hardness were developed.
2008–2009 The annealing furnace was put into operation, and the production of balls of increased volume hardness, exceeding the requirements of the existing Russian GOST, was organized. The first Martin furnace was modernized, resulting in increased capacity, especially in the production of large-diameter balls from 70 to 120 mm. This technical solution contributes to an increase in the heating time of the blank for the production of balls with a diameter of 30 to 60 mm, which improves the structure of low-alloyed metal.
2010 The production of metal products increased by 2.3 times, achieving record production levels in recent years. The production of rolled products with a cutting length of 11.7 meters has been perfected, which meets modern Russian construction standards.
2011 The enterprise managed to maintain production volumes in 2010. A large-scale reconstruction of ball-rolling complex No. 2 was carried out, during which the second tempering stage was installed. As a result of the work done, the enterprise gained the opportunity to increase the production of steel grinding balls by 20%.
2012 The ball-rolling complex No. 1 was modernized. During the work, the internal space of the heating furnace was expanded, which allowed an increase in the amount of metal charged. At the same time, its productivity increased, especially in the production of large-diameter balls from 70 to 120 mm. This technical solution contributes to an increase in the heating time of the blank for the production of balls with a diameter of 30 to 60 mm, which improves the structure of low-alloyed metal.
2013 80 years ago, steel grinding balls production started at the Gurevsky metallurgical plant. 20 years ago, a new ball rolling shop was built. In February, the 6 millionth ton of steel grinding balls was produced. The production of this type of product has been accounted for at the enterprise since 1938. In April, the 10 millionth ton of Martin steel was produced. For the first time in Siberia, Martin steel was obtained at the Gurevsky metallurgical plant in 1924.
2016 was a landmark year in the chronicle of our enterprise. On April 1 of that year, with the registration date of LLC "Gurevsk-Stal", we began a new chapter in our ongoing history. While we value and continue the traditions laid down in 1816, we enthusiastically introduce new ideas and technologies. This year strengthened our position as one of the leading steel producers in Siberia, expanding our horizons for future growth and innovation.