AS Franz Krull
A historic Estonian metalworking and engineering company that evolved from a nineteenth-century copper workshop into a major supplier of industrial equipment for the Baltic, Russian, and Soviet economies.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
AS Franz Krull was a historic Estonian metalworking and engineering enterprise founded by German industrialist and coppersmith Franz Joachim Heinrich Krull in Narva in 1865. It began as a rented coppersmith workshop and initially specialized in distillation apparatuses. A more efficient apparatus introduced in 1870 became commercially successful and enabled Krull to purchase the workshop. In 1875 the business moved from Narva to Tallinn, where it developed into one of the most important machinery producers in the country. The company expanded its range during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its products included boilers, pumps, filters, tanks, cisterns, transmissions, gears, cast-iron goods, equipment for power stations and timber mills, and machinery for metalworking and agricultural use. It supplied boilers for the Tallinn Power Plant and, before the First World War, received contracts connected with Russian military shipyards established in Tallinn. By 1913 it employed approximately 400 people. The company also entered refrigeration and ice-making equipment, a field that later supported exports beyond Estonia. Ownership and management were disrupted by the First World War. Gerhard Krull, one of the family managers, was in Germany when the war began and feared that the enterprise might be confiscated because of his German nationality. Ownership was transferred to his brother-in-law, who sold the company to the Azov–Don Commercial Bank before leaving with the proceeds. Franz Krull II continued to direct the company until his death in 1917. During the war, the works produced desalination systems, marine cooling equipment, boilers, and machinery for fortifications. Following the establishment of Estonian independence, the business came under German financial control and was later listed on the Tallinn Stock Exchange. Its interwar portfolio included cast-iron consumer products, refrigeration systems, road-construction machinery, agricultural equipment, peat-industry machinery, and boilers. From 1927 it increasingly served the Estonian oil-shale industry, producing four tunnel ovens for Eesti Kiviõli between 1927 and 1938. It also built Estonia's first steam locomotive in 1931. Refrigeration equipment was sold domestically and exported to several European, Middle Eastern, and Asian markets. A proposed 1938 order for two tunnel ovens from Australia's Glen Davis Shale Oil Works was not completed because of time and budget constraints. The Soviet occupation brought nationalization and the name Punane Krull, or Red Krull. During the Second World War, machinery and employees were transferred to Russia to prevent their capture by German forces. Under German occupation, production continued in Tallinn under German administration. After Soviet rule was restored, the factory was reorganized in 1945 as Plant No. 9 of the Main Department of Synthetic Liquid Fuel and Gas. It became a specialized producer for the oil-shale and natural-gas industries, while also manufacturing lifting equipment, ventilators, pumps, boilers, conveyors, elevators, and drilling rigs. Its drilling equipment was used in the Soviet Union and exported or transferred to countries including Albania, Romania, China, and several Arab states. The enterprise was renamed Tallinn Machinery Plant in 1949 and moved under the Soviet Oil and Gas Industry Construction Ministry in 1955, when its emphasis shifted toward construction machinery. In 1963 it began producing air-cooled heat exchangers, a product area that became central to its later identity. The plant was renamed after communist politician Johannes Lauristin in 1971. Following the restoration of Estonian independence, it was privatized in 1993. The former industrial operation was known as OÜ Tallinna Masinatehas by 2018, with heat exchangers identified as its principal product. AS Franz Krull therefore represents the historical corporate and industrial lineage rather than a currently operating brand under its original name.
History
Franz Joachim Heinrich Krull founded the enterprise on 25 April 1865 by renting a coppersmith workshop in Narva from the city. Distillation apparatuses became its principal early product. In 1870 the firm introduced a more efficient apparatus, and the resulting demand allowed Krull to acquire the workshop. The business moved to Tallinn in 1875 and later relocated to the Kalamaja district in 1899. Franz Krull's sons, Franz Krull II and Gerhard Krull, assumed management in 1895. Under their direction the company broadened its manufacturing base. It produced boilers, pumps, filters, tanks, gears, transmissions, castings, equipment for power stations and mills, and machinery for agricultural and industrial use. Contracts connected with Tallinn's Russian military shipyards helped expand the workforce to about 400 employees by 1913. Refrigeration and ice-making machinery became another important line, alongside the company's continuing distillation-equipment business. The First World War caused a major ownership crisis. Gerhard Krull could not return from Germany and feared confiscation. The ownership was transferred to his brother-in-law, who sold the enterprise to the Azov–Don Commercial Bank and left Estonia. Franz Krull II remained director until 1917. Wartime output included marine desalination systems, cooling systems, boilers, and machinery for fortifications. In independent Estonia, the company was taken over by German financiers and subsequently listed on the Tallinn Stock Exchange. Its interwar production combined consumer castings with specialized industrial machinery. The company entered oil-shale equipment in 1927, manufacturing four tunnel ovens for Eesti Kiviõli between 1927 and 1938. It built its first steam locomotive in 1931 and continued making refrigeration systems, boilers, agricultural equipment, peat machinery, and road-construction equipment. Refrigeration products reached foreign markets including Lithuania and, occasionally, India, Iran, the United Kingdom, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Bulgaria. Soviet occupation ended the original ownership structure. The firm was nationalized and renamed Punane Krull. During the Second World War, machinery and personnel were evacuated to Russia, while production in Tallinn continued under German administration during the occupation. After Soviet rule returned, the operation became Plant No. 9 in 1945 and Tallinn Machinery Plant in 1949. It specialized in oil-shale and natural-gas equipment, including large ventilators, centrifugal pumps, high-capacity steam boilers, conveyors, elevators, and drilling rigs. In 1955 it came under the Soviet ministry responsible for oil and gas industry construction. Air-cooled heat exchanger production began in 1963, and the plant received the name Johannes Lauristin Plant in 1971. After Estonia regained independence, the plant was privatized in 1993. By 2018 the successor operation was identified as OÜ Tallinna Masinatehas, whose main product was heat exchangers. The available reference material does not establish a current corporate relationship, ownership structure, website, or operating status for AS Franz Krull itself.
- 1993
Privatized after Estonian independence
[1]The successor plant was privatized following the restoration of Estonian independence.
- 1963
Started air-cooled heat exchanger production
[1]The plant began manufacturing air-cooled heat exchangers, later identified as its principal product.
- 1949
Renamed Tallinn Machinery Plant
[1]The Soviet-era operation adopted the name Tallinn Machinery Plant.
- 1945
Reorganized as Plant No. 9
[1]After the restoration of Soviet rule, the factory became Plant No. 9 of the Main Department of Synthetic Liquid Fuel and Gas.
- 1931
First steam locomotive manufactured
[1]AS Franz Krull produced its first steam locomotive.
- 1927
Entered oil-shale equipment
[1]The company began manufacturing equipment for Estonia's developing oil-shale industry.
- 1913
Workforce reached approximately 400
[1]Military-related contracts and industrial expansion brought employment to about 400 people.
- 1899
Factory moved to Kalamaja
[1]The industrial works relocated to Tallinn's Kalamaja district.
- 1895
Second-generation management
[1]Franz Krull II and Gerhard Krull took over management of the company.
- 1875
Operations moved to Tallinn
[1]Franz Krull sold the Narva workshop and transferred the industrial business to Tallinn.
Products and positioning
A diversified heavy-engineering and industrial-equipment manufacturer serving energy, transportation, maritime, construction, agriculture, and process industries. Its later Soviet-era role centered on machinery for oil shale, natural gas, and industrial construction.
Process equipment · 1865
Distillation apparatuses
Distillation equipment was the company's foundational product line. The improved apparatus introduced in 1870 reportedly offered better efficiency and quality than competing models of its period and helped finance the purchase of the original Narva workshop.
Energy equipment
Industrial boilers and steam equipment
The company manufactured boilers for industrial customers, including the Tallinn Power Plant, and later produced high-power steam boilers for Soviet oil-shale, gas, and construction-industry applications.
Oil-shale processing equipment · 1927
Oil-shale tunnel ovens
From 1927 AS Franz Krull developed equipment for Estonia's oil-shale sector. Four tunnel ovens were manufactured for Eesti Kiviõli between 1927 and 1938, making this one of the company's clearest interwar specializations.
Railway equipment · 1931
Steam locomotives
The company expanded into locomotive manufacture and built its first steam locomotive in 1931, alongside related production of tanks, machinery, and other heavy fabricated goods.
Refrigeration machinery
Refrigeration and ice-making equipment
High-capacity refrigeration and ice-making machinery became an important prewar line. Products served the Estonian market and were exported at various times to Lithuania, India, Iran, the United Kingdom, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Thermal equipment · 1963
Air-cooled heat exchangers
Air-cooled heat exchangers entered production in 1963 during the Soviet period. Heat exchangers remained the principal product associated with the successor operation identified as OÜ Tallinna Masinatehas in 2018.
Brand decisions
1993
Privatization after independenceStrategyBackground
The restoration of Estonian independence created the conditions for restructuring state-owned industrial enterprises.
Action taken
The plant was privatized.
Aftermath
By 2018 the successor operation was known as OÜ Tallinna Masinatehas and was principally associated with heat exchangers.
1940
Nationalization and conversion to a Soviet industrial plantStrategyBackground
The Soviet occupation of Estonia ended the company's private ownership and original corporate identity.
Action taken
The enterprise was nationalized and renamed Punane Krull, later becoming Plant No. 9 and then Tallinn Machinery Plant.
Aftermath
Its production focus shifted toward oil-shale, natural-gas, lifting, and construction machinery for the Soviet industrial system.
Sources2 sources
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