Tallinn Engineering Plant named after J. Lauristin

In the Estland Province of the Russian Empire

The plant traces its history to the copper processing workshop acquired by Franz Krull in 1865 in Narva .

Franz Krull ( Franz Joachim Heinrich Krull , 03/08/1835 - 05/19/1901) was a Russian industrialist of German origin. In Germany, he studied in the specialty "Mechanical Engineering", and in 1864 he was sent to the Novgorod province as an employee of an engineering plant.

In Narva, Franz Krull initially engaged in the production of equipment for the manufacture of wine .

In 1875, the company created by Krull was transferred to Tallinn , in 1899 it was transformed into the Joint Stock Company of the Engineering Plant “ Franz Krull ” ( AS Franz Krull ). The joint-stock company was located at 68 Kopli Street, where they built a modern factory complex, which consisted of 12 large industrial buildings, as well as office and residential buildings.

Before the First World War, the plant produced cast iron and steel products, refrigeration equipment and marine heating systems.

In 1909, the plant employed 250 people, in 1913 - 440. For two decades, the plant has become one of the largest machine-building enterprises in tsarist Estonia ^[1] .

In the First Republic of Estonia

During the time of the First Republic of Estonia, the plant produced heating boilers, heating devices, equipment for power plants, and agricultural implements.

In 1928 , the plant began production of equipment for the extraction and processing of oil shale .

In Soviet times

In 1940, the plant was nationalized . At the beginning of World War II , in the summer of 1941, all equipment of the plant, as well as 357 workers, were evacuated .

On June 5, 1945 , the Franz Krull factory was renamed to Plant No. 9 of Glavgaztoprom , and in 1949 to the Tallinn Machine-Building Plant . After World War II, the plant specialized in the production of equipment for the shale and gas industries , as well as lifting equipment.

Since 1963, the plant was the leading enterprise for the development of design documentation, the manufacture of prototypes and serial production in the system of the USSR Ministry of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering ^[1] .

In 1965 , the plant was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor ^[2] .

In 1970 , the plant was the first in the USSR to master the production of air-cooling units for the gas industry . The products manufactured by the plant accounted for 25% of the total demand of the Russian oil and gas industry for heat exchange equipment, was well known and supplied to all the republics of the USSR , as well as to countries of Eastern Europe and Asia ^[1] .

The plant also produced non-standard and ultrasonic equipment, oil equipment and equipment for the chemical industry .

In 1978, the plant produced products worth 37.4 million rubles ^[2] .

In 1971-1990, the company bore the name “ Tallinn Machine-Building Plant named after J. Lauristin ”.

In February 1972, during his visit to Tallinn, the Hero of the Soviet Union, cosmonaut Vitaliy Ivanovich Sevastyanov, was twice an honored guest of the plant.

On January 1, 1979, the number of employees of the plant was 2058 people. By the number of employees, the enterprise was in the top ten engineering plants of the Estonian SSR ^[2] .

After Estonia regained independence

In 2005, the plant changed its owner, in 2012 it became part of the holding . The company’s website says that in 2012 " TMT held the position of the largest manufacturer of air coolers in the Baltic and Northern regions, about 90% of TMT products are supplied to Russian partners, and TMT equipment is used to transport about 30% of the gas consumed in Europe." ^[one]

Currently, a company founded in 2012 is operating on Kopli Street and considers itself the successor of the J. Lauristin factory - Tallinn Machine-Building Plant LLC ( Tallinna Masinatehas OÜ - TMT ) ^[1] .
The number of employees of the head office - TMT Holding OÜ - in 2019 amounted to 7 people, the types of activities: “Leasing and managing own or leased real estate” and “Activities of head offices” ^[3] . For 2019, the main activity of TMT was the production of refrigeration and ventilation equipment (the number of employees was 15 people) ^[4] .
In addition to TMT , the holding includes 2 more enterprises ^[5] : Baltic Metal Construction OÜ (in 2019 - 14 employees, the main activity is “Production of refrigeration and ventilation equipment”) ^[6] and Techno Serv OÜ (in 2019 - 1 employee, the main activity is “Freight forwarding” ) ^[7] .

• Leonid Moiseevich (Maksimovich) Pumpyansky, professor at Petrograd University (since 1919), emigrated to Estonia in 1925;
• Peter Mikhailovich Sheloumov, professor at the Petersburg Technological Institute (1917-1918), emigrated to Estonia in 1919, technical director of the plant since 1928, director since 1940;
• Villar Veskiväli - since 1973;
• Alexey Moroz - since 1982.

Documentary films about the Lauristin factory were shot at the Tallinn film studio of feature and documentary films and the film studio “ Tallinnfilm ”: ^[8]

• 1960 - VI Lenini sünniaastapäeva eel. Tööprotsess Tallinna Masinatehase valukojas / On the eve of the birthday of V.I. Lenin. The labor process in the foundry of Tallinn Engineering Plant, directed by Valeria Anderson
• 1961 - Tallinna Masinatehase lukksepad / Locksmiths of Tallinn Engineering Plant, directed by Valeria Anderson
• 1961 - NLKP XXII kongressi eel. Tallinna Masinatehases / On the eve of the XXII Congress of the CPSU. At the Tallinn Engineering Plant, director Alexander Mandrykin ( Aleksandr Mandrõkin )
• 1963 - Tallinna Masinatehases / At Tallinn Engineering Plant, director Reet Kasesalu
• 1965 - Tallinna Masinatehase 100. aastapäev / 100th anniversary of the Tallinn Engineering Plant, director Alexander Mandrykin
• 1970 - Tallinna Masinatehases / At Tallinn Machine-Building Plant, director Reet Kasesalu
• 1973 - Tallinna Masinatehase uus valutsehh / New foundry of Tallinn Engineering Plant, director Valeria Anderson
• 1974 - Laupäevak Tallinna Masinatehases / Subbotnik at Tallinn Engineering Plant, directed by Toivo Kusmin
• 1974 - Sotsialistlik võistlus Tallinna Masinatehases / Socialist competition at the Tallinn Engineering Plant, directed by Heli Speek
• 1975 - J. Lauristini nim Tallinna Masinatehases / Tallinn Engineering Plant named after J. Lauristina, director Heli Speek
• 1975 - J. Lauristini nim Tallinna Masinatehase õhkjahutid / Air coolers manufactured by the Tallinn Machine-Building Plant named after J. Lauristina, director Julia Guteva
• 1976 - Harald Perri brigaad Tallinna Masinatehases / Harald Perrry Brigade at Tallinn Engineering Plant, directed by Toivo Kuzmin
• 1979 - Brigaaditöövõtt Tallinna Masinatehases / Brigadier contract at Tallinn Engineering Plant, directed by Heli Speek
• 1980 - Töörütm Tallinna Masinatehases / Labor rhythm at Tallinn Engineering Plant, directed by Vladimir Maak
• 1983 - J. Lauristini nimelise Tallinna Masinatehase parteiorganisatsiooni 75. aastapäeva tähistamine / Celebrating the 75th anniversary of the party organization of the Tallinn Engineering Plant named after J. Lauristina, director Reet Kasesalu

Several objects associated with the joint-stock company “Franz Krull” are entered in the Estonian State Register of Cultural Monuments. These include:

• blacksmith shop ^[9] (1900), Tallinn, Kopli street 70a (Tallinn, Kopli tänav 70a);
• assembly shop ^[10] (1909), Tallinn, Kopli street 70b (Tallinn, Kopli tänav 70);
• warehouse ^[11] (1930), Tallinn, Volta 1d Street (Tallinn, Volta tänav 1d);
• fitter's and assembly shop ^[12] (1950s), Tallinn, Volta 1c street (Tallinn, Volta tänav 1c);
• cast-iron fence ^[13] (1931), Tallinn, Kopli street 70 (Tallinn, Kopli tänav 70);
• tower bell ^[14] (1889, cast iron), Aeguidu parish , Aeguidu church;
• tower bell ^[15] (1931, bronze), Leisi parish, Metsküla village, Metskylas Church of the Presentation of the Lord;
• tower bell ^[16] (1933, bronze), Kayu parish, Wahastu village church ;
• tower bell ^[17] (1934, bronze), Illuk parish, Yaama village, Jaama church of St. Nicholas;
• tower bell ^[18] (1936, cast iron), Vinnie parish , Tudu village, Tudu church;
• tower bell ^[19] (1936, bronze), Kunda , Kunda church (Kunda, Mere tee);
• tower bell ^[20] (1938, bronze), Aniya parish , Pikva manor, Pikva village, Michael's chapel.

• Estonian industry

• What remains of industry in Estonia // Baltnews, 07/07/2019