IMPROVEMENTS IN RUMANIAN STEEL COMBINE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070430-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 19, 2011
• Sequence Number: 430
• Publication Date: July 29, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070430-5
CLASSIFICATION RL1GRES221C'I
CENTRAL 1NT E Y
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
COUNTRY Rumania
SUBJECT Economic - Ferrous metallurgy.
HOW
01101lU n
WHERE
PUBLISHED Bucharest
DATE
PUBLISHED Nov 1951
LANGUAGE
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Probleme?Economice.
REPORT
CD NO.
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1951
DATE DIST. -4 Jul 1952
NO. OF PAGES 6
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
IMPROVEMENTS IN RUMANIAN STEEL COMBINE
Ion Pope, Gen Mgr,
Ghb4K9 r twD1Q,iStre3'CEaD21le
D. Lucaci, Asst Tech Dir
The presidium of the Grand National Assesdbly of the Rumanian People's Re-
publtc hai granted the request of Hunedoera Steel Combine workers to change the
name of the enterprise to the Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Steel Combine in honor of
the 50th. anniversary of the Rumanian leader. In honor of this occasion, the
workers have striven to achieve new production heights. This enterprise has
progressed steadily since its organization.
As a result of the new technical and organizational measures, the prog-
ress in the efficiency of management, and of the improvement of the worker's
working and living conditions, the production of the Hunedoara Combine for
the year 1948 exceeded the highest previous level.
The two state plane (1949 and 1950) entrusted the Hunedoara Combine with
tasks which exceeded those of 1948, and these were exceeded. The 1949 pro-
duction of iron exceeded that of 1948 by 66 percent; that df steel 50 percent;
and that of rolled metals 54 percent. The total production of the enterprise
was almost three times as large as the highest previous level. Production
continued to increase during 1950, when the output of iinonr.rwas1 39' percent
higher than that of 1949, that of steel 64 percent, and that of rolled metals
22 percent. Total production of 1950 was approximately four times higher
than the highest prewar output.
The results attained during the 2 years of planned economy demonstrate the
determination of workers to bring about the industrialization of their country
and demonstrate the readiness of the Hunedoara workers and technicians to ful-
fill the tasks entrusted to them. The achievement of these important successes
would have been impossible without the aid of the Soviet Union, which delivered
large quantities of raw materials and industrial equipment, and which also gave
advice and guidance through its specialists.
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The first Five-Year Plan opened great prospects for the Hunedoara Combine.
It calls for an increase of almost 500 percent over 1950 production by 1955.
This would make the combine the most powerful center of the Rumanian metallur-
gical industry by the end of 1955.
To cope with the new tasks entrusted to the combine by the Five-Year Plan,
it was necessary to reorganize its technical and administrative structure by
entrusting supervisory personnel on every level with the sole responsibility
for specific tasks. Likewise each worker has been assigned specific responsi-
bilitios. He is thus given the opportunity of knowing exactly what is ex-
pected of him.
The establishment of a construction enterprise has been of great assistance
to the activities of the Hunedoara Combine. The combine is thus no longer con-
cerned with the carrying out of investment projects but can concentrate on the
execution of the production plan.
The technical and administrative reorganization and all other measures
taken in thin connection have contributed to the strengthening of labor dis-
cipline. to the proper assignment of specific tasks to individual workers, and
to the organizing of the combine it the manner of the large Soviet combines,
thus establishing the conditions necessary for achieving even greater successes
in the future.
The furnace stokers, steel workers, and rolling-mill workers have enthu-
siastically responded to the call launched by the collectives of the Steagul
Rosu Plant in Stalin and the Sovrommetal Plant in Resita for fulfilling the
plan in 11 months and are now delivering thousands of tons of steel, cast iron,
and rolled metals in excess of the plan.
The Buredoara workers a:?.i technicians have engaged in socialist competi-
tions, have fulfilled their quotas daily, nave successfully met all. technical
and economic norms, have adopted Staknanovite methods, have joined the struggle
for fully mobilizing the internal reserves of the enterprise with a view to
fulfilling the plan, anu have taus been able to accumulate savings of tens of
millions of lei. led ',y the party organization and guided by the unions, work-
era and technicians, oy using socialist competition as s method for fulfilling
the plan, have overcome all the obstacles wnicn might nave prevented their
success.
Thousands of "competition contracts" were signed at the beginning of the
first quarter of 1951, by the end of the quarter their number had increased 50
percent. Seventy percent of tr_e total number of Hunedoara wage earners assumed
"personal obligations" in the competition organized in honor of 23 August.
As a resu". of the more efficient organization of labor, the new technical
and organizational metnoda, extensive use of Stakhanovite methods, and the
large number of socialist _ompetitions, major successes have been achieved by
the collective of the Runedoara Combine. Taus, during the first three quarters
of 1951, the production plant for iron, steel, and rolled metals have been
fulfilled 108.9 percent. 106 percent, and 113.9 percent respectively.
The exceeding of .;he plan won for Runedoata two out of three red banners
for production awarded by one metallurgical industry.
One of the main concerns of the collective of the combine has been the im-
provement of the quality of the production by strengthening plan dleci,Line.
More effective organization of.qualitative control within the enterprise brought
about a stricter observance of'standards and also facilitated the prompt de-
tection of qualitative shortcomings. Thus it became possible to take the steps
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necessary for eliminating factors preventing the fulfillment of the required
qualitative standards. A brief analysis of the data on rejects and substandard
products for the first three quarters of 1951 reveals that the struggle for
quality has been generally successful. During the first and second quarters,
the number of rejects was lower than anticipated in the plan. 0.007 percent
instead of 0.2 percent for iron, 2.92 percent instead of 4 percent for steel,
and 0.57 percent instead of 0.8 percent for rolled u.atals. Likewise, during
the third quarter, the proportions were 0.0024 percent, 2.97 percent, and 0.57
percent for iron, steel, and rolled metals respectively.
The figures for substandard products else reveal progress. During the
first half, the proportion of substandard products was lower than anticipated,
as follows. steel, 0.45 percent instead of 1.5 percent and rolled metals.
0.007 percent instead of 0.7 percent. Luring the third quarter, too, the fig-
ures for steel and rolled metals were lrn,er in anti:ipated. The enter-
prise has still to o-n.rcome certain shortcomings insofar as the quality of cast
iron is concerned. But taking into account the fact that qualitative control
becomes more et:tngant ever: say, we may conclude on the basis of the above
analysis of the achievements of the first tt-ree quarters of 1951 tha-c the
quality of the prAucta is improving daily,
The successful fulfillment of t.e production plan is directly connected
with the continuous improvement in technical and economir. index?.3. The nuue-
doara Combine is vigorously pursuing the daily struggle for oetter technical
and economic indcxee. :n tams r apect, definite successes nave been achieved
by the blast-furnace se:tion, titict exceeded the requirements of the plan for
the profitable utilization of bleat-furnace capacities per day 9 percent. The
same section also e ever. +tble to reduce toe consumption of coke in manufac-
turing crude iron from 1,LCKt tuns of coke per ton of crude irons to 1,053
tons. The Martin furnace and rolling mill sections have likewise been success-
ful in improving their consumption indexes by substantially lowering their con-
sumption of fuel and raw mater:als The c?crsunption of fuel per ton of steel
was 20,000 kiiocal.:tcs below that anticipated by the plan, wile that per
ton of rolled metsis was as mu,n as 44,000 kil.celuriea beLrw toe expected
figure. Moreover, the corm mption of elect:i. power par ton. of rolled metals
was 7 percent lower titan set 1. lpetea.
Technical and ec:norm, index?s :,,r, be :mprovea by t.ee extensive u'illza-
tion of Stakranovite w rx ,net:,as and ty tae edcpttcn of effective technical
and organizational methods for ',ne most economical and efficient utilization
of the available equipment. True collectives of the Martin furnace and roll-
ing mill sections, whist navy fulfilled their planned utilization indexes
only 98 and 93.5 percent, respectively, are macfng every possible effort to
fulfill the requizements of t:e plan for utilization of eyai}.Lent.
Despite tt.a great effort required In tranafcnming t? Eunedoara ^orrhine
into a modern combine, the workers and t.e::micians are nevertnelese still
faced by serious Jlfficulttee, woict must to eliminated as loon as possible.
One of the moat serious difficulties fa.-in t:,e Eunednara workers is the failure
to fulfill the plannea inve3tmen: projects on time. For instance, a new foundry
and an loge:.-mcldlnc, room were to be opened in the Martin furnace section.
Although the pr=oduction plan for ttit third quarter nad been fulfilled, neither
the foundry nor toe ingot-mold room wale read;;. A similar state. of affairs
prevails also in the roiling mill section, Stare Several new installations
scheduled for completion last July are not yet ready. The production plan was
therefore fulfilled by utilizing the available equipment more efficiently, and
by increasing the tempo of rroduction beyond the requirements of the plan.
Another serious difficulty which hampers the efficient operation of the
combine is the failure to develop an internal transportation system which would
take care of all production needs. The storage depots are overloaded since
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the available rolling stock, composed chiefly of discarded CFR (Rumanian Rail-
road) engines and cars, is too outmoded and inadequate to satisfy the increas-
ingly higher demands of the combine.
By adopting well-thought-out techni,.al and organizational measures designed
to eliminate the existing difficulties, by discovering and utilizing the in-
ternal resources of the combine, and by adopting and making wide use of Stakh-
anovite work methods, the Runedoara workers and technicians have successfully
fulfilled the plan. The suggestions and advice of Soviet technicians have been
of great value in this connection. For example, the manual feeding devices of
two nonmechanized blast furnaces were connected to the mechanical feeding
system. As a consequence, the production capacity of the blast furnaces was
substantially increased, and the health of the men who were previously respon-
sible for feeding the furnaces is no longer endangered by the gases released
by the antiquated feed system.
Another step designed to speed up the steel-manufacturing process in the
foundry has been tae sdoptian of the system of casting ingots one and a half
times as heavy as before. Taus toe foundry equipment is used less than before
and the production process proceeds at a pore rapid pace.
The acouiring of a few extra motors by the Martin furnace section has been
of great value in assuring continuous production, since the reserve motors are
used whenever tr.c reguia.r or-s are being repaired,
The various :nouvationu tntr,duced by Runedoara worker, have revealed
many hitherto unexplored in_txnal resources. Palcau _se ,ieveioped a new
method of charging nlaat furr.a:.ne which has helped reduce fuel consumption and
has assured more uniform working of t:e furnaces.
Likewise, s cbtart::.; a:'irngs r:.,ve both acrde+ec ty adopt?.ng c.e eugg-tion
of the leading :rue:-aitot, F.rctidie bchvartz, to re:iu_e lime_tor.e in an oid, un-
used blast furnaco. :?in.1 no innger necer?acy t( . have .:na u'clpped in
from other en1..rpriaea, t,nelos .,mbt.^.e br_-.n ?ib1- lair ai much as
1.2 mililon ici a. mcr.t:.
Mary himlla: ?.ianrie+ r-el gan ire ic?ve innovators
for tcelr ent?ipr:i. the lntir?at in .airg the avsria.lr :ac.allatrona,
machinery, and e;_ipnent yc: .fi1:~e.rt:S' ab PC-itlc, ?sr,d aralett to aie-
cuver nea c,c :ne.l ._...cr:ce r.n,