The Central Scientific Research & Design Institute of Wood Chemical Industry (TsNILKhI) was founded in 1932 on the base of Institute of Wood  and the central laboratory of Wood Chemical Industry Department. Since that time planned and systematic scientific research development of wood chemistry started in our country. Research and development works of the Institute to a large extent promoted the development of wood chemistry to the modern level.

Transfer of the Institute in 1959 from Moscow (Khimki) to Gorky City and reorganization into integral Scientific Research & Design Institute of Wood Chemical Industry with the considerable production basis (pilot plant), favoured its closer contact to the enterprises of the branch and created better conditions for the speedy, integrated and deeper, with industrial testing, execution of developments.

The majority of important engineering developments of the Institute and mostly all the works for creation of new products were put through the production tests on production basis (pilot plant) of TsNILKhI.

Following works were carried out at the pilot plant :

• semi-industrial and industrial scale simulation of new productions, processes and equipment developed in the Institute laboratories, as well as perfection of the present ones.
• design of the pilot units for industrial testing, debugging and familiarization with new processes being developed by TsNILKhI as well as perfection of the present engineering processes with the target to obtain data for design and to make up the starting condition.
• manufacture of pilot batches of new products for commercial scale production testing at the customer plants.

In 1994 the Pilot plant of TsNILKhI was transformed into public company BALZAM (JSC BALZAM) and initiated independent development under condition of national economy reforms.

JSC BALZAM is one of the few enterprises of the wood chemical complex that was able to keep its production profile and now it is a national producer of wood chemical and chemical products.

Particular attention at the enterprise is paid to processing of traditional naval stores material  –  rosin and turpentine.

On the base of gum and tall oil rosin we produce a wide range of products finding use in tire, lacquer and varnish and adhesive branches of industry. We produce such products as glycerin, pentaerythritol, diethyleneglycol, trietyhyleneglycol modified rosin esters etc.

One of the principal directions of JSC BALZAM is a deep processing of turpentine. The main raw material for processing is a sulfate turpentine. We commercialized production of α-pinene with a minimum content of sulfur with a quality characteristics competing with the best world analogues. Further reprocessing of α-pinene is aimed to production of such products as  camphene, terpineol, isobornyl acetate  etc. used in a production of fragrance compounds.

JSC BALZAM is the only producer in Russia of such products as silver fir balsam, finding use in optics - mechanical industry and medicine and dipentene tetrabromide used in defence industry, diformal pentaerythritol etc.

In addition to traditional wood chemical products our plant produce phenol-formaldehyde resins: 101К, ЛК, Л, AM, Octofor-10S, Octofor-10-OH.These products find application in lacquer-and varnish, tire industries as well as in production of lubricants and in adhesive compositions.

Our enterprise accumulated the great engineering experience since the time of its foundation, is used for running trial works and production of trial lots of new chemical products.

The enterprise works continuously at diversification  of output products, introduces in-house designs using available research and engineering base.

JSC BALZAM uses only high quality raw materials of domestic large volume producers.

At the enterprise we use modern quality control equipment and due to that fact stable quality characteristics of the output are provided. At the same time the engineering experience and scientific-research potential of JSC BALZAM enterprise allows one to react on-the-fly to the changing requirements and introduce necessary correction in the production.

At JSC BALZAM we have highly skilled personnel and management. We carefully follow contractual obligations, take into consideration consumer interests, quality assurance, use various forms of payment. We are always ready together with the customer  to find way out from any  difficult situation.

Now the enterprise deliver the products to all regional industrial centers of Russia and post Soviet Republics. The products of JSC BALZAM are consumed by various branches of industry, that is illustrated by the list of our products.