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Huta Stalowa Wola

Huta Stalowa Wola, celebrating its 80th anniversary, is a company built as the most important industrial infrastructure plant in the Central Industrial District and a factory with strategic importance for Poland's security. Today, Huta Stalowa Wola is a company that uses modern technologies and systematically implements new solutions.

Around Stalowa Wola, over the decades, a completely new city has grown around Stalowa Wola , an important center of the region and the Podkarpacie transport hub. Because of the restructuring and uncertainty about the future of HSW, the city is making efforts to become independent of the existence of HSW. At present, Huta Stalowa Wola has focused on the continuation and development of the production of the Military Production Center. The interest in taking over the section that produces construction machines has expressed, among others, JCB , Hyundai and Hitachi. Finally, on February 1, 2012, HSW civil machine business was purchased by a global company operating in the field of road and earthwork machinery - Guangxi LiuGong Machinery Co. Ltd.

HSW leads or is involved in research and development in the following product areas:

• 155 mm KRAB self-propelled howitzer on a new chassis
• 155 mm light self-propelled howitzer on the KRYL wheeled chassis
• Self-propelled mortar 120 mm on M120K wheeled chassis
• Self-propelled mortar 120 mm on M120G tracked chassis
• Artillery Command Car on the AWD wheeled chassis
• Artillery Reconnaissance Car on AWR wheeled chassis
• Artillery Armored Vehicle Repair AWRU
• Remotely Controlled Turret System 30 mm ZSSW 30 with a launcher of SPIKE Anti-Air Guns integrated with the Wheeled Armored Transporter Rosomak
• Automated System of Command and Fire Control of ZSDiKO
• new Combat Infantry Float on the Universal Modular Track Platform NBPWP at UMPG
• BAOBAB-K overflow mine platform
• Modernization of RM70 to Langusta II level
• Wheeled armored personnel carrier KTO 8x8.

The plan for the construction of the Central Industrial District, created on the initiative of Deputy Prime Minister Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, adopted by the Sejm in February 1937, initiated the process of creating its own defense potential of the then Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the forks of the Vistula and San, where the seat of the Southern Works was established, in less than 800 days, which elapsed from the first pine for the construction of the plant to be ceremonially opened by President Ignacy Moscicki, a Stalowa Wola industrial center was established. Along with it, in the Sandomierska Forest area, an employee housing estate was created, which was given the name Stalowa Wola. This is how the foundations of today's Huta Stalowa Wola and the city of Stalowa Wola were created.

Already in 1938 in the Stalowowolskie Zaklady, assembly and testing of a field howitzer caliber of 100 mm was started. The history of today's HSW is counted from this event. In 1939, the target annual production capacity of Zaklady Poludniowe was estimated to be 480 field guns, 75 and 100 mm, 48 guns, 105 mm, 72 guns, 155 mm, 16 guns, 75 mm guns, 32 guns, guns, caliber 100 mm 12 gun barrels 155 mm and unspecified numbers of barrels for 37 and 40 mm plots (for J. Reszczynski - "Work of people about STALOWA WOLA").

From the opening ceremony - on June 14, 1939, until the outbreak of the war, all the planned production programs were not managed.

Regardless of the course of history, from the very beginning of its existence, HSW was counted among the strategic links in Polish industry, thus remaining in direct relation with the economic and defense policy of the state.

From October 1939, German specialists took control of the Southern Works, and from June 1940 they already operated under the name "Stahlwerke Braunschweig - Werk Stalowa Wola". The factory's potential during World War II was used for the strategic purposes of the Third Reich, and when Germans left Stalowa Wola (August 1, 1944), about 20% of the value of Zaklady Poludniowe was lost forever. Southern Works were re-officially launched on January 5, 1945. The infrastructure complex around Zaklady Poludniowe together with the Stalowa Wola housing estate on April 1, 1945, obtained city rights. The next 5 years was the period of undertaking work not related to special production, because after the war years, the army did not report the need to expand the defense potential.

On March 20, 1948, on the tenth anniversary of the foundation, at the request of the crew, Zaklady Poludniowe received a new name - Huta Stalowa Wola. The special production in the form of artillery equipment licensed by the then USSR took place in the 1950s of the last century. Anti-aircraft guns, tank guns, towed guns and artillery tractors are essential products manufactured in HSW in the 1950s and 1960s, intended mainly for export to eastern markets. Particularly noteworthy is the production of the D-10 gun launched in 1957 for the most popular in the world, after the Second World War, tanks T-54/55. These tanks manufactured in Poland, equipped with complete cannons or HSW barrels were sent to foreign markets, while creating demand for spare parts. Subsequent versions of D-10 remained in the offer of HSW until the turn of the 80's and 90's of the last century.

With the development of HSW, the infrastructure of the city of Stalowa Wola has been developing. The 1960s and 1970s were the time of production and export sales, a marine missile launcher intended for amphibious ships. This is a "milestone" in the history of HSW, the first step towards the operations of the plant in the area of ??rocket artillery and navy. Thanks to the experience gained at HSW, a lightweight towed rocket launcher was created.

In connection with the preparations for the production of the infantry fighting vehicle, HSW gained further valuable production and construction experience and acquired infrastructure facilities in the form of a modern production department in 1969. These actions, due to the special production decisions taken at state level at the state level, did not result in launching production, however, the knowledge and skills capital developed at that time remained in the company and served subsequent projects. The faculty has become a place for developing the new HSW manufacturing industry, which since 1967 has been construction machinery. This is another milestone in the history of HSW - with the start of operations in this area, with license documentation for American construction equipment, Western technology has entered the company. In 1972, the Kombinat Przemyslowy Huta Stalowa Wola was created, with the simultaneous awarding of the status of the chief unit in the HSW Combined.

Since the implementation of the license for a lightweight multi-purpose armored MTLB tracked tractor and the launch of its serial production in 1976, by 1990 it had been exported to the USSR in a total of approximately 6,500 units. After 1980, many vehicles based on its construction were created in HSW: the Piast multi-purpose transporter, the Automotage command of the Lowcza anti-aircraft defense system, the Lotos medical evacuation vehicle, the Durian engineering transporter. Like many others, not mentioned here, they did not reach the production phase, but they were an invaluable knowledge capital for future projects.

On the basis of the MTLB modification, two variants of the Opal floating chassis were created. These, in turn, were used in consecutive constructions: Hors engineering recognition transporters, Mors technical emergency vehicles, Kroton erroneous transport vehicles, artillery command vehicles. At the same time, HSW obtained licensing documentation for the self-propelled howitzer caliber 122 mm Gozdzik (1976) and began serial production, which lasted from 1984 to 1991. The export amounted to about 73 items sold to the USSR. 529 pieces were produced for the needs of the Polish army. It was the last in the HSW product on the basis of a Soviet license, and at the same time an important step for the Polish Army to replace drawn haubbers - self-propelled artillery.

The enormous scale of special production and, at the same time, filling the existing faculty with civil production, was the premise for the expansion of the production facilities. In 1979, a production complex was commissioned, built and equipped at an impressive pace, constituting an infrastructure base for the implementation of HSW special production (the so-called Z-5).

The years of 1989 and 1990 were the years of breakthrough in HSW's activity, when - after censorship was liquidated - the first attempts were made to "independently" enter the market with special production.

Due to the new economic and economic reality, it was time to start the process of "releasing" HSW from activities not related to the production profile. In a market economy, HSW could no longer act as a center for socio-economic activity undertaken in Stalowa Wola and the region. Thanks to HSW, they were established in the city and region and functioned for many years: a hospital, outpatient clinics, a community center, workers' hostels, bus depots with transport fleet, stadiums, holiday homes, kindergartens, nurseries and thousands of apartments built for employees and their families.

In 1991, Kombinat Przemyslowy Huta Stalowa Wola was transformed into a Capital Group, and Huta Stalowa Wola became a sole-shareholder company of the State Treasury. In the same year, the status of a defense industry company was revoked. The period 1991- 1997 was the time of deep restructuring of HSW and the search for a way to restructure the Polish armaments industry, decision-making time of "suspension" in defense-related projects.

In the period following the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact (after July 1, 1991), and before joining NATO (March 12, 1999), matters related to armaments of the army were not treated as a priority. Many of the product proposals presented in this period by HSW for various reasons did not find acceptance, but the experience pool developed in this way proved to be invaluable. He was important in this aspect, among others project of a hybrid rocket-artillery antiaircraft Stalagmit / Sopel, brought to the prototype stage. Noteworthy is the fact of independent construction and modification of existing structures, as well as the ability to integrate own solutions with products of other contractors or to act as a leader coordinating complex projects for defense and security.

The 1990s were for HSW sometimes establishing business cooperation with Western armaments producers, and thus introducing new standards in the organizational and production sphere to the company. Among the then business partners you can mention, among others Swiss Mowag and Austrian company - Steyer (work on a wheeled armored personnel carrier), British - BAE Systems (155 mm caliber gun), Swiss - Oerlikon (automatic KDA gun).

At that time, HSW made its first steps towards developing a new quality of cooperation with the army, expressing readiness to provide and at the same time take responsibility for the operation of comprehensive weapon systems in place of individual products or individual components. As part of increasing the quality of cooperation with the Polish army in 2000, a separate organizational structure was established within the framework of HSW, bringing together activities related to special production, ie the Military Production Center.

After the "era" of deliveries to the native army of MTLB and Carnations, in 2003 a long-awaited breakthrough took place and HSW handed over the mortar M98 to the army, designed from scratch by Stalowa Wola constructors in agreement with the end-user. This was HSW's first step in the implementation of programs changing the face of Polish artillery and missile forces, which we are moving to this day. This and subsequently created new HSW products can be found in the current offer "for defense and security".

Twice in the years 2000 - 2009 HSW found itself on the verge of bankruptcy. On the one hand, too low level of orders under "special production", on the other - the effects of the global economic crisis, which affected part of HSW producing civilian machines, closely related to the source of this crisis in the American economy, influenced the verification of the current spectrum of operations. In January 2012, the process of privatizing civilian production and construction machinery was finalized, which was sold to a Chinese investor.

In 2014, HSW became part of the Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa group. Today HSW implements, among others program for the supply of fire-resistant 155 mm fire modules for self-propelled howitzers "REGINA" equipped with modern "KRAB" howitzers, command vehicles, logistic wagons. The first Fire Squadron, composed of 24 "Krab" hitters on a tracked chassis and accompanying vehicles (technical, ammunition, repair, command and command and staff cars) was handed over to the Polish Armed Forces in the summer of 2017. In the meantime, in December 2016, the largest contract in the Polish arms industry for the delivery of four "Regina" DMOs. In April 2016, HSW signed a contract for the supply of 8 Company Fire Modules 120 mm self-propelled mortars "RAK" whose main component - 120 mm self-propelled mortar, from scratch was developed at HSW. The company will provide, among others 64 self-propelled mortars, command and repair vehicles "Regina" and "Rak" use in their communication systems, automated command and fire control original innovative solutions of the Polish industry.

HSW SA in 2012 sold to the Chinese investor the construction machinery business, directing the potential for the production of special equipment. Steelworks Wola (HSW) received the first installment from the sale of a construction machinery plant to the Chinese concern Guangxi Liugong Machinery. PLN 160 million was transferred to the Polish company's account. According to unofficial reports, HSW will receive about PLN 300 million in total for five years

HSW modernized its machinery and production park. HSW SA will participate in the construction of a 155 mm self-propelled gun on the basis of the circular Kryl. In 2016, the expansion of the barrel for the needs of the Krab hauboeoom was completed , which enabled the production of barrels up to 155 mm and lengths up to 11 m, which made HSW join the few producers in Western Europe with such capabilities

HSW is the owner of the company "Jelcz", which produces high-volume trucks of various classes for the army and co-owns the company AUTOSAN. HSW develops, among others, unmanned ZSSW-30 turret for KTO "Rosomak". HSW participates in the "Wisla" and "Lobster" strategic programs for national defense. Is the leader of the consortium creating the first ever infantry fighting infantry vehicle (NPBWP) "Borsuk" constructed in Poland.