Kristall

History

On March 1, 1963, the Smolensk Diamond Factory was established by decree of the USSR Ministry of Finance. The first head of the diamond factory was Igor Alekseevich Sudovsky, who is called the father of the cutting industry of the USSR. He held this position for more than a quarter of a century. During this time, a whole network of seven unique enterprises was created, which were included in the industrial production and technical association "Kristall" formed on the basis of the factory. The production base has undergone qualitative changes, research activities have begun to improve.

In September 1988, Alexander Ivanovich Shkadov was approved for the position of director of the Kristall production association by an absolute majority of votes. Alexander Ivanovich began his work at the enterprise back in 1970 and went from technologist to chief engineer. With his arrival, the enterprise develops and introduces advanced diamond processing technologies, including those using laser technology; modern equipment and accessories are installed.

In 1992, Alexander Ivanovich Shkadov obtained for Kristall a state license for the right of independent foreign economic activity to sell products on the international market and began exporting these products abroad. This achievement gave a strong impetus to the further development of the Kristall production association, as well as the entire cutting industry of the country.

An active search was made for ways to establish partnerships with foreign customers, Kristall's products are demonstrated at international exhibitions in Japan, Israel and Thailand. Sales offices are opened in Belgium and Hong Kong. A number of joint ventures are being created in Smolensk. Subsequently, they will unite into the Smolensk Diamonds Association. In 1994, an association of Russian diamond manufacturers was established. AI Shkadov was elected Chairman of the Board of Founders. In 1996, the Smolensk Diamonds Association was created, designed to coordinate the activities of joint ventures created with the participation of Kristall. In the same year, by decision of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Marketing, the association was awarded the International Diamond Star for the high quality of its products. In 1997, in Smolensk, on the basis of the enterprise, a gemological certification center for diamonds was organized.

In August 1998, after the tragic death of Shkadov, Yuri Nikolaevich Rebrik became the head of Kristall. In 2000, jewelry production began at the enterprise, and in 2002, the jewelry center "Kristall" was created.

Increasing competition in the global diamond market required new approaches to manufacturing, trading and marketing. At the turn of the century, PO Kristall formed its global sales network, covering the main world diamond markets. The organizational and technological structure of production was revised, a large-scale technical re-equipment of the enterprise was carried out. During the leadership of Yuri Nikolaevich Rebrik, partnership agreements were signed with Alrosa, a leading diamond miner and monopolist in the Russian market. In 2004, Kristall introduces its products to the new promising market of the Persian Gulf countries through an office in Dubai.

In December 2004, Maxim Alexandrovich Shkadov, the son of A. I. Shkadov, became the General Director of OJSC PO Kristall. After the appointment, the new head of the enterprise reorganizes production. The marketing strategy and ways of promoting the product in various markets are being improved with the help of a special approach to each of them.

OJSC PO Kristall is included in the list of strategically important companies of the country under the personal control of the President of Russia. On April 25, 2005, at the general meeting of members of the Association of Russian Diamond Manufacturers, Maxim Aleksandrovich Shkadov, General Director of OJSC PO Kristall, was elected its President. On June 11, 2008, Shkadov was elected chairman of the Council of the ARPB.

In 2007, the most expensive diamond in the history of the cutting industry in Russia was cut at the plant. The mass of the stone is 45.45 carats.

In 2019, Kristall joined the Alrosa Group.

Activity

JSC PA Kristall is one of the world's largest enterprises for cutting natural diamonds into polished diamonds. Kristall specializes in the production of top quality diamonds: products of the Triple Excellent cut categories are about 60%.[4]. The market necessitated the creation of a wide international trading network, with foreign representations opened in Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.

In 2006, the turnover of the Kristall group of companies exceeded 0.5 billion US dollars, including the turnover of the largest company, the production association Kristall, amounted to 358 million US dollars, which is 3.2% more than in 2005 ( $347 million).

In 2007, JSC Production Association Kristall sold products to the total amount of $404.4 million in foreign and domestic markets, which is 13% more than in 2006 ($358.2 million).