Native name
|
Ростсельмаш |
---|---|
Founded | 1929 |
Headquarters | Rostov-on-Don, Russia |
Key people
|
Valeriy Maltsev (CEO) |
Website | en |
Rostselmash (Russian: Ростсельмаш) is a Russian agricultural equipment company, based in Rostov-on-Don. It was founded in 1929. It primarily produces combine harvesters. The company income in 2005 was 400 million dollars. It used to sponsor a football club that used to be called FC Rostselmash and is, as of 2008, called FC Rostov.
The company name is a syllabic abbreviation of Ростовский завод сельскохозяйственных машин, the Rostov factory for agricultural machines.
Rostselmash was founded in 1929 as a government contractor, producing a variety of products for state farms. In 1931, the first Stalinets combines harvesters were produced. The Stalinets-1 was awarded with the highest award (Grand Prix diploma) during the World Industrial Exhibition in Paris in 1937 and by 1940 fifty thousand units were assembled.
During Operation Barbarosa, Rostselmash dismantled its plant in Rostov-on-Don, and relocated in Tashkent capital of Uzbekistan. Production shifted from agricultural goods to military equipment until the end of the war. In 1943, production was returned to Rostov.
After the war, the Stalinets-6 combines harvesters were assembled and in 1955 Rostselmash began to specialize in grain harvester production. In 1958, the SK-3 self-propelled combines were introduced followed by the SK-4 in 1962. By 1969, Rostselmash produced 1,000,000 combine harvesters. The SK Niva combines, introduced in 1973, remain in production for the Eastern European market.
By 1984 Rostselmash produced 2 000 000 combines. The Don Series combines were introduced in 1986; those along with tractors were sold in North America by Belarus Tractor of Canada. Both had a reputation for poor quality, lack of operator comfort, poor reliability, and lack of part availability.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Rostselmash was incorporated into a in 1992, and fully privatized in 2000.