Sanok Rubber Company S.A. (formerly Sanok Stomil Rubber Industry Plant S.A.) is a Polish company specializing in the production of rubber products, based in Sanok, Poland.
History
Polish Company Sanok for the Rubber Industry
The was established in 1932 during the Second Polish Republic in the newly annexed Posada district of Sanok. The official founding date was 24 January 1932. The enterprise was built with capital from French and Swiss shareholders. Construction was undertaken by Bronisław Kędzierski and Co. Building and Reinforced Concrete Works, with the factory's dedication occurring on 20 March 1932. The founder, owner, and first director was Dr. Oskar Schmidt, an Austrian citizen and rubber technology expert, with his brother Karol Schmidt overseeing construction as the shareholders' general representative. The company was named Polish Company Sanok for the Rubber Industry. In 1932, the factory's directors were Eng. Piotr Lipczyk and Dr. Oskar Schmidt, with Schmidt later serving alone. In 1936, a second plant, Sanok Accumulator Factory, was established under Karol Schmidt, with Oskar Schmidt as general director. Both factories operated under shared management and interests. The Sanok factory was included in the Central Industrial Region (COP), alongside a machine tool factory established by the Schmidts in Sanok, receiving 15 years of industrial and tax benefits from the Ministries of Treasury, Military Affairs, and Industry. The factory produced gas masks, sponge threads for the aviation and shipbuilding industries, and balloons. It demonstrated growth during the economic crisis of the 1930s. In 1934, French scientist Auguste Piccard visited Sanok, intending to use factory materials for a new high-altitude balloon. Later, based on an invention by Dr. Oskar Schmidt and technical director Władysław Kubica, the factory rubberized the envelope of the high-altitude balloon Gwiazda Polski in 1938. The rubberizing process followed a proprietary recipe developed at the factory. The company's assets included a factory nursery, a store offering food purchase credits, a community center with a radio and phonograph for dance evenings, training courses, universal life insurance, a vacation system, a resort in Nowy Sącz, and summer camps. In 1938, the company employed 500 workers, 14 technical staff, and 40 office employees, with a factory area of approximately 15,000 m² and buildings covering 8,000 m². In 1938, the Minister of Industry and Trade fined the company 5,000 PLN for failing to register three cartel agreements related to rubber thread sales with other companies. In 1939, the share capital was increased to 2.5 million PLN. The company's headquarters were at 9 Władysław Reymont Street in Sanok, as was the accumulator factory. The company had a representative office in Warsaw at 18 Widok Street in the 1930s, and later at Kredytowa Street in 1939. Representatives also operated in Kraków, Lviv, Poznań, Bydgoszcz, and Vilnius. After acquiring a license for Laticel production, the company exhibited at the Poznań International Fair in 1937. In the summer of 1938, it participated in the Eastern Trade Fair in Lviv. In 1938, the factory received a gold medal at the Warsaw Hospital Exhibition for its porous rubber Laticel products (window and door seals, mattresses, and pillows). Following the outbreak of World War II and the German occupation, the factory ceased operations. The Germans transported equipment and machinery to the Semperit plant in Kraków, while the Sanok Accumulator Factory was subordinated to Accumulatorenfabrik, though production was not continued, and only a repair shop operated. During the war, Edward Zajic, originally from Karviná, was appointed director of the rubber factory, transferred from Limanowa. He was also the head of the Sanok branch of the White Eagle Organization and the Union of Retaliation in the underground, later dying in Auschwitz concentration camp. Toward the war's end, the factory's buildings and infrastructure were destroyed due to military actions. The company's value in 1939 was estimated at 700,000 USD.
Employment and workforce Initially, the factory employed 5 office workers and 15 laborers. By 1936, employment grew to over 1,200, reaching 1,500 in 1938, including 150 in laboratories, and approximately 2,000 by 1939. Due to the initial need for skilled workers, staff were recruited from factories in Wolbrom and Dębica. In the 1930s, Władysław Kubica served as director. Before 1939, employees included Józef Rymarowicz (vulcanizer), Władysław Gut, Mikołaj Szwan, Adam Bieniasz (also a member of the factory's Balloon Club, 1938–1939), and Tadeusz Towarnicki (clerk from 1939). In the late 1930s, the press noted exemplary employer-employee relations, with no strikes or trade unions.
Production Before 1939, the factory relied on natural gas as an energy source. It produced gas mask components, rubber plates, transmission belts, V-belts for alternators, bicycle tires and tubes (noted for durability, e.g., "cord" and "rekord" models), rubber rims for carts, fire hoses, patented doors, rubber horseshoes, bath sponges, rubber heels, rubberized leather for soles, brake hoses (ordered for British freight wagons), assault boats, and balloon fabric. The factory also produced tents. Schmidt acquired an English license for Laticel, a porous rubber used for vehicle seat fillings. Recycling was widely used, with reclaimed rubber from production waste reused for tires, brakes, and railway components. The factory also manufactured rubber parts for military equipment.
Sanok Stomil Rubber Industry Plant
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