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Rostselmash
Founded 1929
Headquarters Rostov-on-Don, Russia
Products agriculture machinery
Website http://www.rostselmash.com/
Rostselmash

Rostselmash (Ростсельмаш in Russian) is a Russian agricultural equipment company, based in Rostov-on-Don. It was founded in June 21, 1929. It primarily manufactures combine harvesters, and is parent company to Buhler Industries which was bought in 2007.[citation (source) needed]

In early 2024, it was announced that RostSelMash had sold all shares of Versatile (Buhler Industries) to Turkish-based Basak Traktor. [1]

Rostselmash today[]

The Rostselmash Company is the most well-known manufacturer of agricultural machinery in the post-Soviet Union era. The company claims to have delivered more than 2.5 million units of equipment to its customers in more than 48 countries since the date of its foundation in 1929.

For the moment, Rostselmash is the only Russian agricultural equipment manufacturer utilizing CAD-CAM technology. The company has introduced and mastered recent world-class developments in the sphere of design and engineering computer.

Today «Rostselmash» is working in 17 countries and its dealer network includes more than 220 partners.

In 2005 marketing year the company’s turnover was more than 400 million US dollars.

One of the company’s decisive achievements was a silver medal adjudged to the company in the competition of innovations of the international agribusiness show SIMA-2005 (France).

The Rostselmash Company is going to present its recent solutions for harvesting equipment as early as in 2006 in accordance with its lineup development strategy. They used to sponsor FC Rostov (a football club) that used to be called FC Rostselmash as part of that deal but has reverted to the name of the home town, as of 2008.[2]


Rostselmash history[]

Before the war (1931-1940)[]

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Two harvesters having improved design were finished in the experimental shop of the department of harvesters in summer 1931, they were named Stalinetz. The harvesters were tested in the fields of the farm Hutoroc in the Krasnodar region together with harvesters from Caterpiller(and predecessor Holt) and Oliver of the USA. The Soviet machines were working better and could cut not only grain but also sunflower, corn and millet unlike their foreign counterparts. In January 1932 a new harvester assembly department of the Rostselmash plant was put into operation, and in May 1932, the first group of harvesters Stalinetz-1 was sent to the fields. Since construction of the Rostselmash plant, the country has not only stopped importing harvesters but also has begun to export them.[3]

In 1937 the world exhibited its achievements at the universal trade-industrial exhibition in Paris where Rostselmash sent its new Stalinetz-1 harvester. Its delivery to the site of the exhibition was the most difficult task, the harvester was transported on an open platform, with many people waiting at each station to see that unprecedented machine. The Stalinetz-1 harvester won the Grand Prix at the 1937 Paris exhibition.[citation (source) needed]

Harvesters produced by the Rostselmash plant won great popularity all over the country. When working with this equipment, leading operators broke world harvesting records. For instance, in the bChkalov region farmers managed to harvest 6012 hectares of land instead of 378 hectares, and were able to save 16 tons of fuel. This work was done by two coupled harvesters thereby 1637 people were engaged, 373 horses, 25 mechanical reapers, 25 threshers, 25 winnowers, 40 sorters were used. Manual harvesting in that case would require participation of 3323 people.

In 1938 in Moscow. an agricultural exhibition was opened, there Rostselmash got the first degree diploma. On June 14, 1940 the 50000th Stalinetz-1 harvester was assembled on the main assembly line of the plant.

World War II (1941-1945)[]

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During the early of the war, thousands of employees of Rostselmash went off to war. Their wives, sisters and children replaced them at their work places. The companies workshops were converted to military production. Machines were installed without foundation on common joists enabling them to dismantle and replace equipment within some hours.[4]

When German Army troops were at the approaches to the city, the workers of Rostselmash were producing military products sent to the front erecting defensive constructions and bomb shelters at the same time. On October 13, 1941, the personnel of Rostselmash received the order to start disassembly and expedition of equipment to Tashkent. Evacuation of the plant became a titanic task. The whole territory of the plant represented a continuous stream of moving loads which were carried with hoisting units, rollers and aviation. More than 3500 rail wagons were used for evacuation of the plant. On October 19, 1941, the last group of workers left the plant led by the director Titarenko M.M.

In Tashkent the personnel of the plant also performed exploits. The sites for accommodation of the evacuated plant were situated in different parts of the city. There was not enough place and they had to send out certain part of equipment to Chirchik situated 60 km away from Tashkent. So four subdivisions of «Rostselmash» appeared in Uzbekistan, three of them were located in Tashkent and one — in Chirchik.

The plant began to turn out military products and to send them to the front in 33 days after arrival of the equipment to Tashkent. Machine units and lines were mounted in the open air or in hangars or other premises equipped in haste for this purpose. In 35 day of continuous work they produced the cast iron for the first time. Within 3 months, the workshops of the plant evacuated to the rear area were erected on an empty area of 12 thousand square km. Rostselmash produced 82-mm and 120-mm caliber mortar bombs, heads for Katyusha missiles, high-explosive bombs of 50, 100 and 250 kg.

On February 14, 1943 the troops of the South Front liberated Rostov-on-Don. The city had been turned into shambles. Almost all the enterprises including Rostselmash with its workers settlement had been destroyed. During eight days before the capitulation German troops had been methodically exploding and burning down the plant. All the workshops, accommodation units, cultural center on Clubnaya street, the building of the Agricultural Machinery Institute and other buildings had fallen into ruins. The material loss inflicted on the plant exceeded 180 million rubles.

On February 23, in 10 days after the liberation, the first 33 machine units started to work. At the same time preparation for military goods production was started, technical servicing of tanks, tractors and motor vehicles was organized. They had to clear away 150 thousand m3 of rubbles, to put 21 million of bricks, 37 thousand m3of concrete, to mount 8 thousand tons of steel work and 185 thousand m3 of roofing. Within a short period of time 145 thousand square meters of production facilities were put into operation. While the plant was being actively restored Rostselmash engineers A.A. Krasnichenko, B.B. Proshunin and I.I. Popov designed a new harvester named «Stalinetz-6». On April 30, 1947 new harvesters «Stalinetz-6» were assembled in the department of harvesting machines. The designers of the new model became Stalin award winners.

Change-over to self-propelled harvesters (1946-1961)[]

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In the middle fifties, specialization of production enterprises was outlined in the national economy. Since August 1955, Rostselmash started to produce grain harvesters in accordance with the decision of the July Plenum of the Central Committee. Ploughs and corn harvesters had been withdrawn from production and the plant was gradually changing over to fabrication of grain harvesters exclusively.

At the end of 1955, an offer to initiate preparation to production of a new harvester «RSM-8» was made to Rostselmash. That model of harvester was designed by engineers of Rostselmash as well as «Stalinetz-1»and «Stalinetz». It had great header gripping capacity and grain separator capacity. The peg thresher was replaced with the beater drum. The harvester «RSM-8» was being turned out during a year (late 1956 — early 1958), only 50 thousand harvesters of this model were produced.

In March 1958, the plant received a new responsible mission — to change over to delivery of self-propelled harvester«SK-3» within 5 months. On March 15 at 17.30, the last harvester «RSM-8» came off the assembly line. In 100 working days an inspector from the Ministry of Agriculture accepted the first 27 harvesters having been produced in Rostselmash in accordance with the plans of the Taganrog construction department under the guidance of Isakson. By January 24, 1961, the hundredth self-propelled harvester «SK-3» had already been produced.

Contemporary history (1962-1999)[]

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In February 1962, Rostselmash began to produce the next model — «SK-4» which was 25% more efficient than the previous one. This machine was honored with the first degree diploma of the international show in Leipzig in 1963. This model won a medal in Czechoslovakia in 1964 and got the highest award — the «Silver Cup» in Hungary in the same year. The harvester «SK-4» was considered to be the most awarded model among all corn harvesting machines of the world. By August, 1969, Rostselmash had produced its millionth harvester.

In 1973 the plant changed over to the new model of harvesters — Niva having several modifications: a hillside harvester, a rice harvester, etc. designed for work in different natural zones, as well as for harvesting of non-grainagricultural plants. Moreover, at that time tomato harvesters, threshing mills for the flax treatment, the equipment for harvesting of grain cultures were being produced as well. In the seventies, the Rostselmash plant was completely reconstructed. Due to its reconstruction, the plant became the specialized enterprise capable to provide the national economy with the equipment which was sophisticated for its time.

By its semi-centenary, in 1979 the plant had taken a strong leading position in its industry sector. In the early eighties, Rostselmash proceeded to engineering design and introduction of the high-performance corn harvesters of a new line — «Don». That was the seventh change-over to production of a new equipment realized by the plant. In February 1984, Rostselmash produced its two millionth harvester. The first harvesters «Don» was put into full production as early as in October 1986.

The following stage of development of Rostselmash was its reorganization from the state-owned enterprise into an open joint-stock company passed into the ownership of its staff at the end of 1992. Politico-economic changes in the country could not but adversely affect the plant work: stoppages became more frequent, salaries were not being paid. In 2000, the enterprise started to work with renewed energy due to arrival of the new strategic investor — the holding company «Novoe Sodruzestvo» having the controlling stake at present. As a result, a number of employees has increased up to 18 thousand people, all salary debts have been paid off, production of new harvesters has been geared up. See new in the section «Press-center» to know details of our activities today.

Products[]

RostSelMash RSm-401 forage harvester brochure

RostSelMash RSM-401

RostSelMash Torum 760 combine - 2011

RostSelMash Torum 760

Grain harvesting (Combine harvesters)[]

Forage Harvesters[]

RostSelMash RSM-1403 forage harvester

RostSelMash RSM-1403

Tractors[]

The tractor range is manufactured by Buhler Versatile in Canada and marketed under the Versatile brand name. These carry on the heritage of one of the oldest brands of Articulated tractors in the world. For at least one farm show, a Versatile was rebadged as RostSelMash.

RostSelMash 550 DT (Versatile) - 2015

RostSelMash 550 DT

See also[]

References / sources[]

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External links[]

Template:RostSelMash model range

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