OJSC “Torzhok Carriage Works” is a machine-building enterprise specializing in the production of railway rolling stock. The main products are electric and combined trains, as well as special-purpose cars. In 2016, bankruptcy proceedings were launched against the company.
Creature
The history of the Torzhok Carriage Works (TVSZ) begins in 1916, when the 1st Root Park of Railway Troops was formed in the vicinity of Torzhok, Tver Province. The goal of the enterprise was to supply the troops fighting in World War I with necessary goods, repair rolling stock, and make equipment.
Power of the Soviets
After the revolution, the communist government did not begin to close the enterprise. On the contrary, on the example of the Torzhok Carriage Works, companies of railway troops were created in neighboring regions. In the 1930s, production facilities were reconstructed and expanded due to new workshops. The team mastered the assembly of rolling stock for narrow gauge railways:
- car transporters;
- light stations;
- rails;
- workshops;
- passenger cars;
- platforms, trolley.
In World War II, Torzhok was wiped off the face of the earth. The factory workers who returned from the evacuation had to rebuild the Torzhok Carriage Works. However, already in 1946 TVSZ reached the pre-war production level.
In 1958, the specialization of the enterprise changed. In his shops, they began to master the assembly of special cars for public services, the USSR Ministry of Defense, the space and nuclear industries. In 1963, the team manufactured a transport and installation unit for the Proton launch vehicle. A feature of the plant was the small-scale and single-unit production of unique equipment, which subsequently affected financial condition.
Market laws
With the collapse of the USSR, the Torzhok Carriage Works actually lost orders from the main employer - the state. The young Russian Federation still had to re-form state structures, and TVSZ production was not interesting to private companies due to its specifics.
The administration urgently began to look for a way out. It was decided to re-profile part of the capacities for the production of general civilian products. The choice fell on the assembly of electric trains of the ET-2 series, previously supplied by the Riga factory. By the mid-1990s, the plant produced one 10-car train each. Products turned out to be in demand. Engineers at the Torzhok Car-Building Plant significantly improved the design, improved the comfort and operational characteristics of electric trains. In total, three modifications were produced:
- Suburban ET-2M.
- The increased comfort ET-2ML.
- Energy-saving ET-2EM.
For 1993-2007, 100 electric trains of the ET-2 series were delivered to customers. The creation of electric trains of ET-4A modification equipped with traction asynchronous drives became a real engineering breakthrough.
Special cars
In 2003, after a long break, factory workers received orders for the production of special-purpose cars from a number of government departments. The largest percentage of production was intended for the Ministry of Atomic Energy, the Ministry of Defense, the Russian Post, Russian Railways, and the Bank of Russia. Among them:
- Support cars of modification 15T91.
- Thermo-protected special wagons 60M2B, allowing the transport of important goods accompanied by a maintenance team. The peculiarity is the high autonomy of staff accommodation, the possibility of operation in the widest temperature ranges (from - 40 ... + 50 ᵒC) and a 15-meter retractable ramp for loading / unloading even on unprepared platforms.
- CM541 laboratory wagons, allowing to monitor the condition of railway tracks and soils. Autonomy - 15 days.
Some products were delivered in an armored version.
Torzhok Carriage Works: Bankruptcy
In 2003-2012, the enterprise carried out large-scale work on reconstruction and expansion of capacities. Universal expensive AMADA laser cutting complexes, high-performance guillotines, a Vipros coordinate-turret press, CNC metal-working machines, and automatic welding equipment were purchased.
New workshops were sequentially modernized and introduced:
- EXCEPT.
- Frame bodywork.
- Assembly frame.
- Mechanical.
- Powder coating.
- Painting.
In 2012, a hardware production area with an area of about 13,000 m 2 was launched, the productivity of which was 768 trolleys annually.
The above activities required the attraction of large investments. The plant went into debt, which the administration was unable to pay. Sberbank, to which the company owed about 950 million rubles, demanded that TVSZ be declared bankrupt. Currently, the company has suspended production activities, introduced external management.