The history of the plant dates back to the year 1920 when the National Economic Council of Tomsk province decided to transform the workshops of Tomsk Technological (Polytechnic, at present) Institute into the First Tomsk machine-building plant “Mashinostroy” of the National Economic Council.
In 1927 when Tomsk became a member of Novosibirsk territory the plant was turned over to Novosibirsk trust of metal specialties and named “Metallist”. The range of products produced included scales, road-rollers, oil tanks, log haulers and drilling machines.
The plant “Metallist” was turned over to “Vostokugol” by the resolution of CPSU (B) Central Committee of 17 July, 1931. Since this date the plant history started as the producer of mining equipment. The plant was provided with considerable appropriation (at that time) for the renovation purposes in the amount of more than 2.5 mln roubles that made it possible to construct foundry, toolroom, forge, maintenance, pattern, and assembly shops, and build a garage and storehouse.
For the first time 77 electric drills ÝЖ1 were manufactured for the mines of Kuzbass in 1933. In 1940 – 1941 the production of electric drills amounted to one thousand pieces. According to the requirements of miners the initial drill design “Siemens-Schuckert” was modernized and the drill became lighter, faster in operation and more powerful.
In 1933 the manufacture of electric pick-hammers ÊÍØ-3 was established at the plant. The hammer design was developed by K.N. Shmargunov, the director of Tomsk Industrial Institute. By 1941 the annual production volume of electric pick hammers had amounted to 1553 pieces that was a great achievement at that time.In 1939 the plant was passed on to Glavgormash and renamed “Tomsk electromechanical plant”.
During the Great Patriotic War period the plant took over three evacuated enterprises: Leningrad plant “Pnevmatika”, Konotop plant “Krasny metallist” and “Kharkov plant of mine-surveyor tools”. The orders of workshops included the manufacture of munition products. Since 1942 when K.I. Lavrentiev became a new director, the plant began to master the production of mining machines which were earlier manufactured in Leningrad and Konotop. The plant laid a railway branch, built an electric power station and water-pumping unit. During the war years 1,117,000 pieces of pneumatic tooling and more than 60,000 pieces of various-application electric machinery were manufactured.