Kharkov Bicycle Plant was founded by a Russian merchant about 130 years ago. Before the revolution, the factory’s bikes were called “Russia,” they were bought by the military department for the army, and the company introduced advanced technologies, striving to surpass European counterparts, which in many cases succeeded. In the Soviet period, the dream of all cyclists was a bicycle brand "Ukraine". Today, the plant produces modern bike models.
Riga innovator
Kharkov Bicycle Plant dates back to the time of Tsarist Russia. In 1889, the Russian merchant A.A. Leitner opened in Riga a small factory for the production of new, rapidly becoming fashionable equipment - bicycles. Initially, the staff consisted of only three workers and the owner himself, producing spider bikes. Gradually, production developed. Leitner's merit lies in the fact that as a true entrepreneur, he sought to provide the buyer with the best products and he knew a lot about it.
Alexander Leitner was a man with excellent entrepreneurial skills and knowledge of a design engineer. As a member of the board of the Riga Cycling Society, he attended themed exhibitions in different countries of the world and followed the latest in the bicycle market. The fashion for a new type of transport was gaining momentum: bulky "spiders" were replaced by models of the "safeti" type. For a long time, products were distributed only in a few provinces adjacent to the production, which already had its name - “Russia”.
In 1896, the factory takes part in the All-Russian Exhibition, which was held in Nizhny Novgorod. The Leitner booth, consisting of twelve bicycle models, was a resounding success. By this time, the production produced 15 items of road and racing bicycles. Mr. Leitner received the medal of the exhibition, which was a sign of recognition and helped bring products to the national level.
Military order
By the beginning of the 20th century, the factory "Russia" produced women's, men's, road, freight, children's, tandem bicycles. The entire range consisted of more than 20 models. The price policy was democratic, as the cheapest bike cost 130 rubles, multi-seat models were estimated at about 450 rubles. Leitner himself introduced innovations in the design of the rear hub and patented an invention, which turned out to be very successful, providing domestic bicycles with high competitive advantages in the world market.
The military department of tsarist Russia was attentive to the new products, and in 1913 the factory received an order for the manufacture of 1 thousand men's road bikes. Such orders raised the rating of the enterprise to the highest level, which had a positive effect on the number of other orders of the factory. The annual turnover of the company reached 400 thousand rubles, and production output noted a figure of 8 thousand units per year.
From Riga to Kharkov
In 1915, the front line passed near Riga, the evacuation of strategic enterprises was required. On July 24, 1915, all production facilities were transferred to Kharkov, in the premises of the former Helferix-Sad factory. In a new place in 1916, the company began producing folding military bicycles “Duks Combat”. According to the contract, the company was supposed to ship 3,000 army bicycles to the military department.
Until November 1917, 3,600 combat models were sent to the front from the Leitner factory. Over the entire history of the company, more than 100 thousand bicycles have been produced from production lines, more than 60 models have been mastered. The asset of the company's pre-revolutionary history is the release of the first motorcycles, tricycles and several types of cars.
After the revolution
After the revolution and the end of the war, a devastated country needed transport. As it turned out, the bike is perfect in every way. By the beginning of World War I, there were two major bicycle manufacturers in Russia - the Moscow Dux factory, which had been redesigned to produce aircraft during the war, and the Leitner factory, which had been prudently evacuated to Kharkov. In pre-revolutionary times, Russia produced about 25 thousand bicycles per year.
In 1923, the Kharkov Bicycle Plant, also called the Leitner enterprise, with great difficulty produced only a few thousand cars a year. The city authorities decided to optimize production facilities and organize a G.I. Petrovsky. As part of the stages of modernization of production, the capacities were transferred to new workshops, where the railway branch approached. The total territory occupied an area of more than 3 hectares.
By the beginning of the restoration of the plant, there were about 50 experienced employees who had rich practical experience. Of these, the main composition of mentors, masters and instructors was formed, who were to teach beginners to work on non-standard high-class equipment. In 1924, the Kharkov Bicycle Plant completed the year with the release of more than 1 thousand bicycles.
Build Production
The people say - “the rumor of inventing cunning”, which is fully confirmed in real life. In a devastated country there were no components for the production of bicycles, but there were many industries with unclaimed products. Through simple thoughts and adjustments, the plant's masters began to use instead of English frames Cossack peaks dumped on the territory of a neighboring factory since the First World War.
By 1926, purchases of foreign-made components were established. Steel seamless pipes, bicycle chains, cold-rolled rim tapes, chemical products and consumables were written out from England. Some of the necessary materials were imported from Germany.
A sufficient amount of materials and full-fledged production cycles allowed to release the first official bicycle of its own production, called "Ukraine". Until 1927, Kharkov Bicycle Plant with old equipment produced almost 12 thousand bicycles of this model.
Evacuation
Kharkov Bicycle Plant was subject to modernization in 1929, which allowed to master the production of improved models and increase the annual output of finished products. Until 1941, the company produced about 1 million bicycles. With the outbreak of hostilities, the plant was hastily evacuated to Bukhara, where the production cycle focused on the production of products for the front was restored in a few weeks.
With a cardinal change in the situation at the front, it became clear that the Kharkov Bicycle Plant would be returned to Ukraine. In the autumn of 1944, the process of re-evacuation began, and already at the beginning of next year, the enterprise restored the production of equipment for military purposes. In June 1945, the plant began producing peaceful products - bicycles.
Recovery
The post-war years brought the company rapid development. Products of the Kharkov Bicycle Plant were in demand throughout the USSR. In 1948, lines for the production of female and children's models were laid. The employees of the design bureau of the plant worked on new models: talented engineers and technicians. According to plans, by the end of the five-year plan, the plant was supposed to produce 350 thousand units per year.
The company grew, new workshops appeared, and the staff increased. Three million rubles were allocated for the development of production in 1948. Part of this money was used to build housing for workers. The company worked in three shifts. In 1949, the B-31 sports bike model was developed at one speed, subsequently upgraded to two speeds.
In 1950, bicycles of the Kharkov Bicycle Plant took part in international competitions, not inferior in technical and quality characteristics to foreign analogues. In 1948, the expansion of production facilities and the reconstruction of the enterprise began. This served as a superplanned production of necessary equipment for 10,340 units of production.
Much attention was paid to the social sphere. Along with the expansion of factory premises, housing was built, social facilities - canteens, rest houses, a library, children's art groups and sports sections began to work.
Prosperity and restructuring
In the mid-seventies, the plant produced an extensive range of products, including sports, children's, travel and other models. The total output reached 800 thousand bicycles per year. KhVZ was the only specialized enterprise in the country where high-quality and high-quality light-road and sports bicycles were produced.
In 1979, at the time of the Olympic Games in Moscow, the Kharkov bicycle factory had developed unique models of sports bikes for those years - Moscow-80 and SZ Champion Shosse. The sport bike frames were made of hydrocarbon fiber and had an innovative design solution. Unfortunately, the models were not completely ready for the Olympics, and the project was not developed.
In 1983, the 23 millionth machine came off the assembly line of the Kharkov Bicycle Plant. The beginning of the nineties for all spheres of production brought about the breaking of economic ties and a drop in output. The financial condition of HVZ was significantly undermined. In 1991, the USTF company became the main shareholder of the Kharkov Bicycle Plant.
Since 2001, the volume of production has been increasing; the range of bicycle models is expanding. A part of the products is manufactured under the Vodan trademark. Today the company forms dealer networks in Ukraine and in Russia.
Products
HVZ (Kharkov Bicycle Plant) bicycles were very popular throughout the Soviet Union. Many models have become legendary, famous for their quality and ease of repair. Boys across the country learned to ride and learn engineering skills with Ukraine bikes.
The most popular HVZ models:
- "Ukraine". The most popular bike brand, which received a large number of modifications. Classic designs were performed in male and female versions and traveled equally well on asphalt and dirt roads. The Ukraine LUX model differs from the classic in the presence of aluminum alloy rims. The comfort of long trips is provided by a connecting rod, carriage assembly and front brake. The model is available with a traditional and lowered upper crossbar, equipped with a spacious trunk, extended guards and a footrest.
- "Tourist". Also the legendary bike model. From "Ukraine" it was distinguished by its light weight, narrow tires and four switchable speeds. The manual brake in the basic configuration had rear and front-wheel drives. In modern high-speed models, the frames are made of steel, the structure is welded. Bicycle spare parts are manufactured by Ventura. Its price is low, and reliability exceeds many well-known models.
- "Tourist Start-highway" - was intended for professionals, but it was easily mastered by amateurs as well. A feature of the model was the low weight of the alloy steel frame, only 2.2 kilograms. The bike was equipped with two gears on the rear wheel and five on the front. The comfort and safety were ensured by tick brakes, a frame saddle and reinforced pedals.
- "Sport". The bike was distinguished by a total weight of 14.5 kilograms, a front steel fork, a system of eight gears and an external steering wheel. The model was produced in the 70s and was very popular with amateur athletes.
- The Record is a track model weighing 8.5 kg for professional riders.
- "Sputnik" is a bicycle model loved by active tourists. Intended for long bike rides both within the city and on dirt roads. It is characterized by increased comfort and impact resistance.
For nearly 130 years, Kharkov Bicycle Plant has been developing. Today, company branded stores can only be found in some cities of Ukraine. The cost for Ukrainian users starts from 2400 hryvnia.
The Kharkov Bicycle Plant is famous for the quality of its products. Prices for Russia at the present stage are formed by private sellers. They can buy a bike at a price of 10 thousand to 45 thousand rubles. The company continues to seek the possibility of expanding the network and opening branded stores in Russia.
PE at the factory
In the foreseeable history, the HVZ burned twice - in 2009 and in 2017. In March 2009, a fire spanned 150 square meters. meters of area, one of the workshops completely burned out. The fire occurred in the middle of the working day, there were no injuries. The cause of the dangerous situation was called outdated wiring. In this state of emergency, the paint and varnish workshop of the Kharkov Bicycle Plant was damaged. The fire was eliminated by the Ministry of Emergencies of Ukraine.
The second case of fire occurred on March 30, 2017. A three-story assembly shop burned down on the territory of the plant. Extinguishing experts assigned a second level of danger to the fire. One of the residents of Kharkov suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Address
The central office of the company is located at Dizelnaya street, building 3/5.
The plant in Kharkov is located on Moskovsky Prospekt in building 118.
In addition to the main products, the company produces a large range of consumer goods - hand trolleys, sledges, spare parts for bicycles.
On site, you can buy bicycles of the Kharkov Bicycle Plant: a company store is located next to the main production.