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Native name | Завод імені В.О. Малишева |
|---|---|
| Company type | State-owned |
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1945 (initially in 1895) |
| Headquarters | , Ukraine |
| Products | Tanks, locomotives, ship parts |
Number of employees | 5000 (2015) |
| Parent | Ukroboronprom[1] |
| Website | www |
TheMalyshev Factory (Ukrainian:Завод імені В.О. Малишева,romanized: Zavod imeni V.O. Malysheva; abbreviatedЗІМ,ZIM), formerly theKharkov Locomotive Factory (Russian:Харьковский паровозостроительный завод,romanized: Khar'kovskiy parovozostroitel'nyy zavod,ХПЗ,KhPZ), is a state-owned manufacturer of heavy equipment inKharkiv,Ukraine. It was named after the Soviet politicianVyacheslav Malyshev. The factory is part of the state concern,Ukroboronprom.
It producesdiesel engines,farm machinery,coal mining,sugar refining, andwind farm equipment, but is best known for itsproduction of Soviet tanks, including theBT tank series of fast tanks, the famousT-34 of the Second World War, the Cold WarT-64 andT-80, and their modern Ukrainian successor, theT-84. The factory is closely associated with theMorozov Design Bureau (KMDB), designer of militaryarmoured fighting vehicles and the Kharkiv Engine Design Bureau (KEDB)[2] for engines. In 1958, it developed theKharkovchanka, an off-road vehicle which reached theSouth Pole the following year.
At its height during the Soviet era, the factory employed 60,000 of Kharkiv's 1.5 million inhabitants.[1]
As of 2015[update], 5,000 people worked at the factory.[1]
The factory was renamed several times. First originally named inRussian,English-language sources variously refer to it asfactory,plant, orworks, though now use theUkrainian translation of the wordzavod (works).
The Kharkov Locomotive Factory (KhPZ) built about 20% of theRussian Empire'srailway engines. After theRussian Revolution and the establishment of theSoviet government in Ukraine, the factory was put to work designing and buildingtractors and, after 1927,tanks. TheLeningrad'sBolshevik Factory and the Kharkov's KhPZ in 1929 became the first two Soviet tank factories to be modernized withGerman assistance under theTreaty of Rapallo, 1922.
Atank design bureau was established in the factory in 1928, one of several which would be responsible for some of the most successful tanks ever built, and eventually become theMorozov Design Bureau. The KhPZ designed and produced twenty-fiveT-24 tanks, then nearly eight thousandBT fast tanks. It also built a handful of multi-turretedT-35 tanks.
Shortly before the German invasion of theSoviet Union the KhPZ started series production of theT-34, the most-produced tank ofWorld War II. Series production began in June 1940 in Kharkov, and later in theStalingrad Tractor Plant andKrasnoye Sormovo Shipbuilding Plant. In 1941, due to German advances, the factory and design shops were evacuated to theUral Mountains;[1] the plant was merged withUralvagonzavod inNizhny Tagil into one enterprise called Ural Tank Plant No. 183.
After Soviet victory over the Germans, it began production of the newT-44 tank in 1945, and the first prototypes of theT-54. After the war was over, the design bureau and factory gradually transferred all operations back to Kharkov.[1] The "No. 183" designation was left in Nizhny Tagil, while in Kharkov the factory merged into Factory No. 75, a previously existing plant known for its T-34 diesel engines. T-54 production was started in the Urals and Kharkov in 1947–1948, and the move ended with the 1951 re-establishment of the Design Bureau, now called KB-60M, in Kharkov. In 1957, the Factory No. 75 was renamed Malyshev Plant, and next year it took up production ofT-55, the most-produced tank ever. The bureau also designedOT-54 andTO-55flame-thrower tanks, for production at theOmsk Transport Machine Construction Plant. In 1967,T-64 tank production began here, as well as in theKirov Plant and in the Uralvagonzavod.[3] TheT-80 tank, with a high performancegas turbine engine was produced beginning in 1983,[4] followed in 1985 by a more conventional diesel model, T-80UD.
Finished tanks were assembled in several plants, but Soviet industrial planning prevented any region from being able to establish independent arms production. Components and sub-assemblies were produced in different factories, the MalyshevFactory specializing in engines and transmissions.
The Malyshev factory's million-square-metre facility produced 800 tanks in 1991, but underwent difficult times after the breakup of the Soviet Union, producing only 46 tanks until 1996, when a $650 M contract was signed to supply 320T-80UD tanks toPakistan.[5] Fulfilling the contract was difficult — the distributed nature of Soviet military industry forced reliance on Russian factories for parts, and Russian political interference forced the development of local capabilities, resulting in theT-84 tank design.[6]
Like many Ukrainian industries, Malyshev was not allowed to negotiate contracts directly with foreign governments, but had to rely onUkrspetsexport, a government arms-trading company. Although Malyshev was denied exporter status in July 1999, it was given this status by decree of PresidentLeonid Kuchma in November of that year, a move seen to be an election gift toKharkiv Oblast. Malyshev joined as the leader of thirty-four companies to form an export consortium calledUkrainian Armored Vehicles.
Malyshev has demonstrated main battle tanks to Turkey, Greece, and Malaysia, and has entered into a contract to supply engines for Chinese-madeAl-Khalid tanks for Pakistan. In September 2000, a deal was signed to modernize Soviet-made tanks and armoured personnel carries for the United Arab Emirates. The Malyshev factory also manufactures parts forBizon, a Polish producer of agricultural combines.
In April 2009, the Malyshev Factory signed a contract to upgrade 29 T-64B [Т-64Б] tanks to T-64BM "Bulat" [Т-64БМ "Булат"] standard, for theUkrainian Army for ₴200 million ($25.1 million). Ten upgraded tanks were delivered in 2010, and 19 planned to be delivered in 2011. The T-64B tanks being upgraded were originally produced at Kharkov in 1980.[7][8]
In 2012 the Malyshev Factory had a sizable tank scrapping operation.[9]
Since the outbreak of thewar in Donbas the factory's main focus became supplying new and rehabilitated tanks to the Ukrainian Army.[1]
On 22 July 2014 the factory was used as a transfer point in returning the bodies from theMalaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash to their home countries.[10]
The factory was struck by Russian missiles in March 2022, December 2022, and February 2023.[11]
Locomotive production was performed from 1897 to 1969. Until the invasion of Soviet Union by Germany in 1941, the factory was producingsteam locomotives which were produced on several factories of theRussian Empire and theSoviet Union. After the war and rebuilding of the factory in 1947, it produceddiesel locomotives until 1969.
Specialized in tank building, the factory also was manufacturing artillery tractors, while initially as agricultural tractors.
Notablediesel engines from Kharkov include the 1472 kW2D100 (used in theTE3 locomotive) and the 2208 kW10D100 (used in theTE10 locomotive). Both were 10 cylinderopposed pistontwo-stroke diesel engines of the 1950s.[12] Another engine in this series, the 12 cylinder9D100 was less successful and was not widely used.
49°58′11″N36°16′51″E / 49.96972°N 36.28083°E /49.96972; 36.28083
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