FROM "STANDART-BETON" №1 PLANT TO ZAO "BECEMA"

The whole life ahead of you!

It was 1929. Only a few years had passed since the Civil war finished, and peaceful life was already full of reports about labor exploits. According to the decision of the XIV  AUCP(b) party congress, the country made industrialization its policy. Famous plants and factories were built at a torrid pace: Magnetic mountain and Dnieper hydro-electric power station,  Kuznetsk metallurgical complex and Ural heavy machine plant, Chelyabinsk and Kharkov tractor plants, Moscow and Gorky automobile plants.

Upon Government decision the construction of another first-born of the domestic industry started on the outskirts of the Pavshino village (today's Krasnogork) in the place of inconvenient bogs. It was reinforced concrete structures plant.

Inert material shopfloor for sand and gravel extraction was the first to be constructed, the others followed and only in three years the plant was put into operation. On July 6th,1932 one more red flag emerged on the economic map of the country. It was "Standart-beton" №1.
It produced reinforced concrete beams, large columns and slabs for large-scale production facilities, concrete door-posts, stair flights, roofing slabs, high-pressure reinforced-concrete pipes with diameter of 300 and 600 mm; later foundations for railway traffic lights, telephone units, battery wells, structures from wire stressed precast concrete for critical facilities were added... This is a non-exhaustive list of production manufactured at the plant, which was growing stronger with every passing day.

The production of the plant was vital for  the largest construction projects of the country: Moscow Metro, Moscow-Volga canal, "Dinamo" plant, they were used for reconstruction of the capital's telephone network and in other national industrial objects. The plant was gaining ground: the production of reinforced concrete structures was growing, the pipes were used to upgrade the municipal sewage lines, interceptors, drains and gutters.
At the time the plant was at the cutting edge of housing and utilities infrastructure development. Reinforced concrete piles were used for construction and modernization of the capital's bridges; within a very short time the plant workers became familiar with production of special purpose structures: bridge rails, baulks, pillars, piles, liners, telephone units, cladding panels.

During 7 pre-war years - from 1933 to 1940 the output increased from 10 300 to 30  000 m3 of reinforced concrete products, and number of workers doubled and reached 900. By the end of the 2nd five-year industrial plan the plant was producing goods worth a total of 2,2 million rubles, and on June 22nd 1941 The Great Patriotic War began.

Everything for the front! Everything for victory!

This slogan became a call for selfless labour, for immediate and categorical reorganization for the plant and for all industries of the country. Reinforced-concrete blockhouses and machine-gun nests became the main production of the plant. People were working untiringly for 13-14 hours. Women replaced men in shopfloors and worked as drivers as well.

For their self-sacrifice during the Great Patriotic War the employees of the plant more than once received the challenge red banner of USSR State Defence Committee. 467 workers including 386 women were highly decorated for their success in work.

In 1944 the plant continued manufacturing products for the battle front. The production level was up by 511 percent as compared to pre-war output and in 1945 the plant received the challenge red banner of USSR State Defence Committee for good.

In 1944 the administration of the plant was instructed to start producing vehicles and equipment for cement industry. A special group was formed among the plant employees that had to build a foundry and a forge and blank production shops.

  
    
 
   

  
  

Drastic alterations

When the WWII was over, it was decided to change the specialization of specialization of "Standart-beton" plant and repurpose it toward manufacturing of engineering products.  It happened after the "Messerschmitt" equipment was brought to Krasnogorsk from Germany under the war reparations in order to absorb German aviation technologies that had been a key to multiple victories of the fascists during the war.
Turning of the plant into the machine-building enterprise required much organization and centralisation of engineering technical services.  Specific departments were established: manufacturing department, chief designer department, сhief process engineer's department, mechanical department, chief power engineer department, material & technical supply department, capital building department.

Pavshino mechanical plant

The plant reconstruction was neither quick nor easy.  It took almost 20 years for "Standart-beton" to finally become "Pavshino mechanical plant". The foundry and a forge and blank production shops came into service in 1949, mold-making and gear shops were put into operation in 1954.
As it had been planned, the plant was repurposed for producing transportation equipment for the construction industry. The early post-war years were marked by manufacturing of chamber furnaces, shell rings, rotary clinker kiln, conveyors for dry bulk and lump materials, machines for making a stock of peat.

Together with production-line items the workers of the plant manufactured equipment for flourishing power industry: tower cranes and dredgers for sluicing produced there were used for construction of the hydroelectric power plants in Kakhovka, Kujbyshev, Angara and Bratsk.
In 1955 the plant received two more honorary orders. The first was the steelworks for pre-fabricated frame-and-panel houses designed for the scientists of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition.  Right after that the directions to launch the production of units for Ostankino TV tower were received.
The 5th five-year industrial plan was marked by planned increase of the manufacture output: the production output was to be increased  in 2,5 as compared to the 4th one. This purpose required skilled specialists.

In 1953 the evening technical school was established for training of the plant workers in off-work hours. Now they could receive secondary technical education and trained as a process technician. Then, in 1956, a branch of All-Soviet Union extramural civil engineering institute was established at the plant. At that time the workers offered 1700 efficiency proposals and the benefit of their implementation was considerable making 2 million rubles.
Meanwhile the final specialization of the plant is determined which is manufacturing of the equipment for cement industry. Production of more than 300 kinds of machinery is embraced, including special transporting conveyors, hollow panel production facilities and machines for glaze coating of ceramic pipes, cement production from flaming slag and others.

During the period of 1956 to 1961 "Pavshino mechanical plant" starts producing pneumatic screw pumps for cement transportation from mills to silos and  cement trucks for the transportation of cement and other bulk solids, embraces manufacturing of pneumatic chamber pumps.  A great deal of attention is paid to manufacturing of fast moving consumer goods.

These conditions dictated the increase in plant capacity: the mechanical assembly  and gear departments were expanded, the construction of a steel melting shop was started.

Krasnogorsk plant of cement machine-building

The middle of the 60s was marked by explosive growth of the plant. With the end of the Khrushchev Thaw period councils of national economy fell into oblivion, and Pavshino mechanical plant came under the jurisdiction of Ministry of construction, public-service and road-machine building.
From that moment on and for almost 25 years the plant will be called "Krasnogorsk plant of cement machine-building". The change of the name was not merely a result of changes in politics.

Since 1965 the possessions of the plant expanded considerably. Mechanical assembly, gear and blank production departments were among its main assets. Continuous production lines of heat and mechanical treatment of apron conveyor components were organized, mechanical assembly equipment was grouped according to the processing type, CNC machine work center was put into service.
Engineering laboratory building for industrial laboratory and plant management was put into operation. The growth of manufacturing areas was good for development of secondary and related facilities: compressor facility,  power-saw bench with repair and construction site, new power substation, warehouses, gas filling station, boiler facility was expanded.

Soon "Cemmash" of Krasnogorsk underwent a new test. It was 1969, only four years since the modernization began, when according to the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR the plant had to start production of mineral fertilizer distributor based on ZIL truck. All of this had to be done against the backdrop of steady growth of cement trucks and pneumatic chamber pumps production.

A new task of welding and assembling department construction was on the agenda, and "Cemmash" of Krasnogorsk successfully coped with the task, as in 1970 the department was already put into operation. Some of the technological equipment from mechanical assembly department was brought there and the production of pneumatic chamber pumps started along with mineral fertilizer distributors.

1960s-1970s

It was a period of partnership relations expansion, including foreign countries. The production was supplied to COMECON countries, China, Vietnam, Mongolia, Iraq, Syria, Ceylon, Cuba and other countries. The leading structural designers and process engineers of the plant went to America to master a licence to manufacture high-performance elevators.

In 1975 a pilot model was installed in Spassk-Dalniy, and to this day the city residents speak well of Krasnogorsk plant workers, because elevators and conveyors keep working successfully and no major repair is required. The specialists of the plant are invited to Bulgaria, Poland, Iraq and Vietnam to assembly and maintenance of the plant products.

In 1977 a new workshop started largely producing mineral and ash trucks for agricultural sector. The plants workers hurled all their effort into developing technological infrastructure and implementation of advanced technologies in foundry, welding and electrode-making practices.
New facilities were created: heat treatment by high frequency currents, processing of conveyor rollers and axles, CO2 welding, automatic flux core welding. Production output was growing steadily, and this process was considerably facilitated by modernization of foundry workshop that was finished in 1983.

Heat treatment and fettling, forming and moulding, smelting shops and raw-material bay were added to it, which helped to increase foundry output to 5000 tonnes. At the same time comprehensive automation and mechanization program was successfully implemented. It involved 70% of main and secondary processes. The degree of labour mechanization in the field of cargo handling moved beyond 60%, and reached 90% in the field of  interdepartment and external streams of supply.

New technologies called for acquiring new skills and advanced training of the staff. In order to provide technical training of prospective and current employees, an educational department with equipment simulators and modern, fully equipped classrooms was created. The advanced training courses for the workers and technical staff started at the premises.

1982 – 1986 period.

The commercializing of new production continues: rotary locks for flour-milling industry, grain discharging plant and brick making equipment are manufactured. The design of traditional cement trucks was also upgraded and their capacity increased. A senior-grade quality rating was assigned to SCM-611b brick conveyor and many other products of the plant. The share of top quality products among the overall output equaled 49%.

Switching to new economy management conditions

The year of 1985 was life-changing for the whole country. The concept of restructuring and acceleration was proposed at the April Congress of CPSU Central Committee.

From now on drastic alterations in economy management were being employed. The Congress of CPSU Central Committee held in July of the 1987 approved of "Guidelines for major restructuring of economic life of the country". Implementing decisions of the Party and the Government, a new association based on the main plant "Krasnogorsk plant of cement machine-building" is formed, which includes a group of companies and organizations "Strommashina" of Bologoe, Kemerovo, Kokhma, Lisichansk, Cherkassy towns as well as Moscow design institute "Gipstrommash".
Vladimir Sergeevich Trifonov became the chief executive officer of a brand-new industrial association - PO "Stromoborudovanie". The newly-appointed CEO planned further reconstruction and expansion of the plant manufacturing areas and implementation of new technological processes. Unpopular products were discontinued.

The manufacturing of products different from current specialization of the plant, e.g., welding electrodes or fertilizer distributors, was transferred to other plants. At the same time according to the market demands the production of crane gears and metalworking vises was reduced.
In the meantime assimilation of new state-of-art types of products was well underway. They included cement trucks with capacity of 15 and 20 t, pneumatic grain movers, elevators with capacity of 400 m3/h. Even during the most difficult periods the company management was aimed at improved configuration, quality and design of the products: In 1989-1990s a new complex for heat treatment of component parts in shielding gas (made in USA) was purchased and implemented.

19 mechanical flow lines, 28 complex mechanized sections are operating and 27 units of high-performance equipment and 83 new technological metalwork processes are implemented at the plant. 83% of cast product are made by advanced methods, 77% of welding operations are mechanized.

How ZAO "Becema" emerged

In 1991 V.S.Trifonov and the chief executive of Dutch corporate group "Behemann" mister Van Den Nieuwenhuizen after two years of successful collaborative work approached the Government of USSR with a joint-venture proposal. On March 22nd, 1991 the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided to reorganize "Cemmash" of Krasnogorsk into ZAO (a closely held company under the laws of the Russian Federation) "Becema" (combined Behemann and Cemmash). It was one of the first privatized companies in USSR and Russia.

The product improvement of the new company started with appearance of the products. At first two and in a year two more CWN (Netherlands) spray paint booths were purchased.

New equipment allowed considerably improve the quality of coating, apply complex painting schemes and good-looking lettering. The vehicles began standing out on the roads of the country.

In the beginning of the 90s "marketing" concept still was not widely accepted in our country. There was no one to suggest which products would get off the ground and which ones will have no success. This situation called for the best international practices.

The Dutch partners helped the plant employees to visit European plants that manufactured similar products and purchase licenses. As a result the manufacturing of vehicles for transportation of flammable substances (gasoline tanker trucks) was successfully started.
The plant purchased a license of Hobur company, the plant employees underwent training in the Netherlands. The first vehicle manufactured in 1995 went through fire and water during the operation, traveled more than 2 million kilometers, but experienced not a single gasoline leakage. Another important stage in engineering development was the design of a new type of cement trucks.

For many years "Cemmash" had been producing cement trucks with cylindrical tanks, and modern vehicles have a complex shape that consists of several cones, dished heads and transitional elements with double curvature. All components are assembled and welded along the lines of tough requirements of "Kotlonadzor".

In this way TC-21 cement truck was created and it became a prototype for a batch of vehicles with different capacities. The new cement truck was equipped with BCM-1 compressor that was unique for USSR.

The plant has almost all processing facilities: forgings, mechanical treatment department, mechanical assembly production, material inspection laboratory, engineering departments, foundry engineering, thermal process department, paint spray processing, X-ray chambers.
Supporting services list is also impressive: maintenance area, package workshop with its sawmill, railway junction, training school, tool maintenance department, gasworks, gas-filling station, storage facilities, transportation department etc.

1994-1998 period was marked by exacerbation of crisis for Russian machine-building industry. In spite of everything the plant was developing.  There must be something in the very nature of the "plant" concept that allow its employees to keep their feet on the ground and slow but sure pursue their agenda. Real plant workers are solid and not bustling, and it makes them different from people who job hop and try to pursue Lady Luck.
The workers, engineers and managers with little human costs went thrгgh the most difficult period of 90s. In the middle of 90s road construction was the leader of economy. The reason was that the road use tax was 2,5% of capital turnover of all businesses and organizations. It was a huge sum of money in the light of constant tax payment defaults and dominance of barter trade.

ZAO "Becema" widely participated in tenders for innovations that were held by the Ministry of road construction. This way the plant won tenders to engineer and manufacture prototype models of pothole patching vehicles and asphalt distributors of new generation. Under the strategy of diversification the production of vehicles for flour and feed stuff transportation was started.

Later, in the beginning of the XXI century, alcohol and milk semi-trailers were added. LNG tanker trucks (propane-butane) were engineered for purposes of oil-and-gas extraction industry and the line of gasoline tanker trucks was expanded. To provide the quality of manufactured vehicles, the plant established a test center for adjusting brake system of every manufactured vehicle. The license of Gosstandart of Russia was received.
In order to grasp the technology of wheeled vehicles and provide on-time delivery of suspensions, "Becema" started producing single-axle, dual-axle, and triple-axle spring and air suspensions together with Dutch company of "Weweler". All moulded pieces,  hot pressing of axles, mechanical treatment and assembly were made at the plant, which made purchasing axles from other plants unnecessary.

In order to surpass dedicated plants,together with "Bosch" and "Wabco" (Germany) "Becema"  took on the task of installing ABS systems on its own suspensions. The strenuous work of engineers, production designers and shop personnel led the plant to the cutting edge of wheeled vehicle production. The plant manufactures the best refueling trucks, bitumen tanker trailers, cement trucks, asphalt distributors, LNG trucks in the country.
"Becema" is in good shape in its anniversary year of 2007. The corporate team is growing and today it is 1300 employees.
Young specialists come to the plant.

The equipment fleet is renovated:

• a unique 6-meter four-roll CNC roller press is installed;
• a machine for manufacturing of odd-shaped heads (ellipse, trapezium, etc);
• 6-meters gantry for automatic welding.

Due to its unique equipment the plant can manufacture vessels of almost any cross-section and surpass its competitors. A separate subject is the start of manufacturing of aluminium alloy vessels. The series production of dump trucks is entered.

The dump truck production brought the plant together with major companies of automotive manufacturing: Volvo, MAN, Scania, Iveco, Ford, Mercedes, DAF, Renault. All these companies are the parnters of our plant.

Currently the plant uses all these chassis for mounting of the dump bodies equipped with  world’s best Binotto (Italy) hydraulic cylinders, concrete-mixing machines and fuel vessels.

High quality of "Becema" production meets the requirements of the global leaders in machine-building industry, which is proved by long-term agreements with Volvo, MAN and Halliburton companies.
 

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