<p>The<br />

machine building, iron and steel foundry and rolling mill plant of<br />

the Kramatorsk Metallurgical Society belonged to the joint stock<br />

Kramatorsk Metallurgical Society till 1918.</p><br />

<p>After<br />

World War I started, foreign citizens left the joint stock company on<br />

the Russian government’s demand and the company was owned by<br />

Russian and Polish shareholders. During the war, in<br />

addition to its basic production, the plant also produced gun tubes<br />

and carriages, two-wheel carts for medical service, shells. Apart<br />

from that, locomotives were repaired there.</p><br />

<p>During<br />

World War I the number of workers fluctuated greatly from 1.3<br />

thousand in 1914 to 4.1 thousand in 1916. In 1914 women were first<br />

admitted to work at the plant. In 1915 Chinese workers were hired due<br />

to lack of workers caused by mobilization.</p><br />

<p>In<br />

1915 a shell shop was built, where a half of the workers worked. In<br />

1916 the shops were equipped with new kinds of machines; a metallic<br />

bridge over the Torets river was constructed, which joined the<br />

plant’s territories situated on the different banks of the river.</p><br />

<p>On<br />

17 November 1920 the plant was nationalized and renamed as the<br />

Kramatorsk State Machine Building and Metallurgical Plant. Now it is<br />

the Starokramatorsk Machine Building Plant [http://www.skmz.dn.ua/].</p><p>Author: Volodymyr Kulikov</p>