History

The history of the factory traces its roots back to the beginning of the last century. On September 20, 1925, the 1st Kimry Cooperative-Industrial Tailors’ Artel was established, focusing on sewing men’s and women’s clothing.

In 1933, it was renamed the Kimry Seamstresses’ Artel named after Maxim Gorky. From that time, by orders of the People’s Commissariat of Defense, the artel began producing military uniforms, including overcoats, pea jackets, tunics, and dress jackets.

During the Great Patriotic War, production was reoriented to meet the needs of the front. The factory produced various military uniforms, including tank crew helmets, shoulder boards, quilted jackets, and overcoats. Barges transported uniforms along the Volga River that required repairs before being sent back to the front. The workers, mostly women, manually unloaded these shipments and then reloaded the repaired goods. They worked under extremely difficult conditions, sparing no effort, guided by the central slogan: "Everything for the front, everything for victory."

Starting in 1959, alongside the production of sewn goods, the factory began mastering a new product line—personal respiratory protective equipment for working with radioactive substances—namely, the widely known ShB-1 "Lepestok" respirators.

In March 1965, the factory was transferred to the jurisdiction of the State Committee for the Utilization of Atomic Energy. From that point onward, it became known as the Kimry Factory named after Gorky and fully specialized in the production of personal protective equipment. All production capacities were dedicated exclusively to manufacturing items for working with radioactive substances, including specialized clothing made from polymer materials.

Since 1968, the factory has been the only manufacturer in the country of AFA analytical aerosol filters, produced using FP materials. These filters serve as a foundation for assessing the sanitary and hygienic condition of atmospheric air and industrial premises. They are used to determine the concentrations of airborne particulate impurities in the air of cities, towns, cultural and entertainment venues, transportation facilities, and other industrial spaces, both under normal conditions and during emergencies.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the enterprise experienced successful growth. Respirator production reached 70 million units per year, accounting for nearly half of the country’s total output of such items.

At the same time, the factory began developing new product types, including AFA analytical filters, items made from thermoplastic materials, and an expanded range of specialized protective clothing. The products manufactured by the enterprise were supplied to more than 20 countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the factory operated in three shifts to provide respirators and protective clothing to the disaster response teams. In June 1986, approximately 3 million "Lepestok" respirators were delivered to Chernobyl.

Since 1994, the factory has operated as an open joint-stock company under the name JSC "Kimry Factory named after Gorky."

Starting in 2005, the factory’s management embarked on a course of technical re-equipment, replacing outdated machinery with modern equipment and automated production lines. A total of 37 units of equipment were introduced, including automated lines from the world’s leading manufacturers.

In 2008, the factory began producing new types of specialized protective clothing made from non-woven materials, such as coveralls, semi-coveralls, jackets, pants, aprons, short gowns, sleeve protectors, shoe covers, and caps.

From 2009 onward, as part of an import substitution initiative, a large-scale project was undertaken to develop and produce a new series of "SPIRO" respirators.

In recent years, a long-term program for the reconstruction of buildings and structures within the factory’s core assets has been implemented according to an established plan. The Board of Directors and factory management continuously prioritize improving employee working conditions. Today, the setup of key production workstations meets European standards and, in some aspects, exceeds them.

The factory’s specialists continue to work on developing new respirator models.

JSC "Kimry Factory named after Gorky" remains a leading specialized enterprise in the production of personal protective equipment for respiratory and skin protection when working with radioactive and hazardous substances. One of its widely recognized products is the ShB-1 "Lepestok" respirator.

Today, our enterprise is a leading expert in the field of production and selection of personal protective equipment in Russia.

The enterprise is equipped with an automated French-made production line designed for manufacturing FFP2_v2 "SPIRO-1001" respirators, which offer high respiratory protection and ease of use. The line is fitted with the most advanced production technologies. Respirators produced on this line meet the highest standards of quality and safety.

The enterprise has its own scientific base, laboratory, and design bureau.

We actively participate in the "Lean Manufacturing" program, hold an international ISO standard, and our products have received numerous awards and, most importantly, the trust and recognition of the people who use them.