From Cold War to cold vessels
This article describes a former Soviet weapons plant which is converted to produce cryogenic vessels and other peaceful cylinders. In 1995, Byelocorp Scientific Inc. (BSI), a New York-based firm that specializes in transferring technologies developed in the former Soviet Union, began converting a huge military defense plant in Kazakhstan into civilian-industrial use. The nearly 750,000-square-foot factory in Almaty, the capital of the former Soviet republic, was previously used to manufacture torpedo shells and ballistic rocket casings. The old defense plant, which was known as Gidromash, will now manufacture cylinders of a kinder, gentler variety--cryogenic vessels. The Kazakhstan operation is being managed jointly with Supco Srl., an Italian manufacturing, engineering, and construction company. With financing from the US Department of Defense, BSI, Supco, and the Kazakhstan government, a new joint venture called Byelkamit (a combination of Byelocorp, Kazakhstan, America, and Italy) was established.
- OSTI ID:
- 382648
- Journal Information:
- Mechanical Engineering, Journal Name: Mechanical Engineering Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 118; ISSN MEENAH; ISSN 0025-6501
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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