Vyatskiye Polyany Machine-Building Plant
JSC Vyatskiye Polyany Molot Machine-Building Plant is a Russian company based in Vyatskiye Polyany. The plant manufactures rifles and shotguns, and is a subsidiary of Rostec. It is one of the largest companies in Kirov Oblast.
Molot was established in 1940, and was originally based in Zagorsk, Moscow Oblast. It was the main manufacturer of the PPSh-41 submachine gun. In 1941 the plant was evacuated to Vyatskiye Polyany with its workers, including G. S. Shpagin and N. F. Makarov, designer of the eponymous Makarov pistol. In the 1950s the plant manufactured the Vyatka motor scooter.
In the 1990s the company diversified by launching a line of sports and hunting weapons. Rifles manufactured in the Molot plant are exported to the United States under the VEPR brand. In recent years, Molot has produced shotgun variants of the Mosin-Nagant rifle, the SKS carbine and the AKM rifle for the Russian civilian firearms market utilising the "Lancaster" rifling and up-necked, shotgun versions of the 7.62x54R and 7.62x39mm cartridges.
The company entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2012; as of 2017 it is being controlled by a bankruptcy managing company.
