The Sverdlovsk Region has over the years, accumulated considerable industrial expertise centred on the iron-and-steel, engineering and defence sectors. Regional industrial production exceeds the national average by 300%.
The Urals' defence industry was established in the 18th century when the local Demidov iron-and-steel works started casting the famous cannons for the Russian Army and Navy.
Sverdlovsk Region's modern defence industry comprises 40 industrial enterprises and research agencies, including 27 large and medium enterprises, and 13 research institutes and design bureaus fulfilling defence contracts.
There are also several dozen general-purpose engineering companies supplying materials, spare parts and components to defence-industry enterprises.
Most defence-industry enterprises are part of vertically integrated companies and state-owned corporations.
For instance, Rostekhnologii (the Russian Technologies State Corporation) includes the following 9 enterprises: Planta Chemical Plant, Verkhneturinsk Engineering Plant, Serov Mechanical Plant, Kalinovsky Chemical Plant, the Ural Yalamov Optical-Mechanical Plant Production Association, the Start Science and Production Association, the Ural Instrument Engineering Plant, the Radio Equipment Plant and the ISET Ural Electric Connectors Plant.
The Rosatom state-owned corporation includes the following 6 enterprises: the Ural Electrochemical Works, the Elektrokimpribor Works, the Ural Electromechanical Plant, the Venta Nizhneturinsk Engineering Plant, the Sverdlovsk Chemical Engineering Research Institute (SverdNIIkhimMash) and the Institute of Reactor Materials.
The Almaz-Antey Air Defence Concern includes 3 enterprises, namely, the Kalinin Engineering Plant, the Novator Special Design Bureau and the Vektor Ural Production Enterprise (UPP).
The Uralvagonzavod (railway car-producing) engineering company comprises the following 8 enterprises: the Uralvagonzavod Production Association, Plant No. 9, Uraltransmash, the Ural Transport Engineering Design Bureau, the Ural Scientific Research Institute of Pipes (UralNITI), Uralkriomash (cryogenic equipment), the Ural Science and Engineering Complex and the Kamensk-Uralsky Foundry.
The Ural Design Bureau Detal is part of the Tactical Missiles Corporation.
The Academician Semikhatov Science and Production Automation Association and the Research Institute of Engineering form part of the Russian Space Agency.
The Nizhny Tagil Metals Testing Institute and the Verkhnesaldinsk State Plant of Chemical Storage Tanks are both federal state-owned enterprises.
Most enterprises in this sector are the main employers in the region, and regional prosperity and social situation depend on them. Consequently, state defence contracts seriously influence the broader economy of the Sverdlovsk Region.
Most enterprises that make up Sverdlovsk Region's defence industry work together to fulfil state defence contracts and directly depend on advance payments from the main defence contractors.
The enterprises that make up the regional defence industry develop and manufacture an extremely wide range of weapons and military equipment, including: tanks, combat-engineer vehicles, artillery pieces, conventional munitions and various missiles for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Space Force, as well as ballistic-missile guidance systems, radio-electronic weapons systems and optronic target-acquisition systems.
Moreover, these enterprises manufacture a wide range of civilian products, including: medical equipment, mapping and surveying systems, tractors, road-building equipment, loaders, municipal-utility vehicles, railcars, lighting equipment, die-cast components for engineering enterprises, high-voltage equipment for the fuel and energy sector, metal ceramics, die-cast light-alloy disks for motor vehicles, meteorological equipment, telecommunications equipment, electric connectors, plugs, joints, electric equipment for engineering products and transport systems, nuclear power plant equipment, as well as equipment for the food processing industry, ventilation and heating equipment, and prefab metal structures, among others.
The region's defence industry enterprises are constantly expanding their production. In 2008, the output of the region's defence industry exceeded 2001 output by over 250%.
As of November 1, 2009, 35 enterprises and design bureaus were involved in fulfilling defence contracts.
Military products account for over 30% of the regional defence industry's output.
The defence industry employs over 110,000 people in the region.
Average monthly wages are just over 18,000 roubles.
Enterprises that make up the region's defence industry are implementing production modernisation and retooling programmes in order to manufacture more competitive high-tech products, to facilitate more cost-effective production and to introduce progressive state-of-the-art technology. In the past 6 years, fixed-capital investment volumes soared by over 100% from 4.7 billion roubles in 2003 to over 9.8 billion roubles in 2008.
In the past few years, enterprises in the regional defence industry have implemented a number of ambitious projects aiming to overhaul and retool production. This includes the reconstruction of electric heating mains and a special-casting workshop manufacturing rolling-stock frames and girders at Uralvagonzavod. The Oktyabr Production Association has commissioned a laser metal-depositing unit. The Kalinin Engineering Plant has established a specialised regional production centre using foundry facilities with subsequent machining and has overhauled a machining workshop using imported equipment made by MAZAK. The Ural Electrical Engineering Plant has commissioned new machining and painting equipment for its electrical-engineering box production section.
There are plans to implement over 170 investment projects worth about 58 billion roubles that aim to overhaul and retool production at the region's 94 engineering and defence-industry enterprises before 2015.
The Nizhny Tagil Metals Testing Institute Federal State Enterprise occupies special place among enterprises in the regional defence industry. The Institute tests artillery systems, munitions and their components, medium-calibre and large-calibre land and naval artillery, aircraft weapons, free-flight rockets, munitions for multiple-launch rocket systems and short-range weapons.
This enterprise comprises the Nizhny Tagil State Showroom and Exhibition Centre of Weapons and Military Equipment (GDVTs). This is a unique, fully equipped exhibition facility. In the 10 years of its existence, the GDVTs has hosted 17 major exhibitions, including 11 military-product exhibitions, such as the Russian Arms Exhibition in Nizhny Tagil, the Defence and Protection Exhibition, as well as six Magistral (Mainline) and UralPromExpo transport and industrial exhibitions.
The exhibitions included over 4,000 enterprises and featured 28,137 exhibits, including over 2,000 life-size systems. The GDVTs facility which operates virtually all year round has hosted over 60 specialised military-product shows for foreign customers.