Bereznikovsky Soda Plant OJSC, the first-born of the Russian soda industry, has been manufacturing its products for 130 years. The production of soda ash at the enterprise is carried out by the ammonia-salt method. Since 2010, it has been part of the structure of the Bashkir Chemistry holding.
Creature
In the 19th century, the need for soda ash was enormous. By the end of the century, Russia annually consumed about 2 million pounds of soda, which was used in the glass and textile industries, in soap making, and the production of kerosene from oil.
At that time, almost all soda came to the country exclusively from foreign plants. The new stable high-quality ammonia-soda production, which is so necessary for the developing chemical industry in Russia, was created in Berezniki by the famous Prikamsky merchant-industrialist I.I. Lyubimov and the outstanding Belgian engineer, talented chemist-technologist and businessman E. G. Solve.
Country Value
The construction in 1881-1883 of the first domestic production of soda with a capacity of 6,000 tons annually contributed to the creation of a new industrial center on the Upper Kama. Moreover, the Bereznikovsky Soda Plant (BSZ) allowed the entire domestic chemical industry to accelerate the pace of development.
The company, managed by a foreign administration, in many respects adopted the European management experience. It became the smithy of the cadres of Russian young capitalism, and made it possible to accumulate the rich experience of foreign partnership. Housing was built for workers, good working conditions were created. Highly qualified staff received a very high salary. In general, the plant was an example of socially responsible business, which is not typical for the tsarist period.
Soviet period
The First World War, the Russian Revolution, the Civil War caused enormous damage to the entire Russian economy, but the Berezniki Soda Plant continued to operate under any government. After the Civil War, soda production increased from 20,000 tons in 1923 to 26,000 tons in 1925. Caustic production doubled. Significantly reduced the cost of soda and other products.
The successes of the key enterprise were seen at the highest level of the young Soviet republic. In 1923, the Supreme Economic Council awarded the organization the honorary title of “Exemplary Bereznikovsky Soda Plant named after Lenin”. In 1929, in the Northern Prikamye, where BSZ was located and manufactured, the construction of the Berezniki Chemical Plant (BHK) began. This object was one of the 12 most significant in the USSR and was under the personal control of the People's Commissar of Heavy Industry Sergo Ordzhonikidze.
In the early 30s, Chairman of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee M. I. Kalinin and S. K. Orzhonikidze came to Berezniki to get acquainted with the progress of industrial construction. The soda plant became part of the BHC being built, and only in 1940 it again became an independent enterprise.
In difficult pre-war, military and post-war years, despite objective and subjective difficulties (repression, harsh climatic conditions, lack of qualified personnel), the soda plant played a crucial role. So, after the occupation of the southern Donetsk and Slavic plants at the beginning of the war, the BSZ was left alone for the whole country. During WWII, the company was the only supplier of soda products. It provided soda ash enterprises of the chemical industry with 28 drug commissariats, and caustic soda - with 25 plants of drug commissariats. In parallel, the famous Molotov cocktail was produced here. In the post-war period, factory workers also made a significant contribution to the restoration of the national economy of the USSR.
Products
Today Bereznikovsky soda plant in terms of soda production takes 3rd place in the Russian Federation. Its share in the domestic market is kept within 16-18%. The company produces:
- Soda ash grinding No. 1.
- Technical detergents.
- Lump lump quicklime.
- The brine cleared.
- Sodium chloride brine.
- Means household "Dish".
- Limestone and its derivatives.
- Crushed stone and mixtures.
- Rock formations.
- Coke coal fines.
Modernization
BSZ annually invests significant amounts in the development of the enterprise. As part of the implementation of the investment plan, the construction of the production of "heavy" soda is underway. A large-scale reconstruction of the soda ash workshop was carried out. Among the largest projects:
- Mounting a turbocharger.
- Installation of a pumping line for a weak ammoniated brine.
- Modernization of the carbopillon No. 9 and No. 12.
- Modernization of sludge collector.
- Installation of ammonia station equipment.
- Installation of six gas analyzers on methane and CO in the soda ash calcination department.
Measures have been taken to ensure the safe operation of the vortex absorber. The carbonate regime is being developed and introduced at a distillation station in order to ensure a non-inrust regime.
Bereznikovsky soda, which employs about 2,000 people, remains a significant enterprise in the region. Entry into the joint holding Bashkir Chemistry allowed us to optimize our logistics schemes, find additional resources for modernization, and successfully compete with core industries.