Rostselmash was a Russian agricultural equipment company, based in Rostov-on-Don. Founded in 1929, it primarily produces combine harvesters. The company income in 2005 was around 400 million dollars. The company name is a syllabic abbreviation of Rostovskiy zavod sel'skokhozyaystvennykh mashin, the Rostov factory for agricultural machines.
The company formerly sponsored the football club FC Rostov; during that time the club was named FC Rostselmash.
History
Rostselmash was founded in 1929 as a government contractor, producing a variety of products for state farms. In 1931, the first Stalinets harvesters were produced. The Stalinets-1 was awarded with the highest award (Grand Prix diploma) during the World Industrial Exhibition in Paris in 1937 and by 1940 fifty thousand units were assembled.
During Operation Barbarossa, Rostselmash dismantled its plant in Rostov-on-Don, and relocated in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Production shifted from agricultural goods to military equipment until the end of the war. In 1943, production was returned to Rostov.
After the war, the Stalinets-6 harvesters were assembled and in 1955 Rostselmash began to specialize in grain harvester production. In 1958, the SK-3 self-propelled harvesters were introduced followed by the SK-4 in 1962. By 1969, Rostselmash produced a million harvesters. The SK Niva harvesters, introduced in 1973, remain in production for the Eastern European market.
By 1984 Rostselmash produced two million harvesters.