Sawmill 25 is one of the oldest enterprises of the Arkhangelsk Region, its staff is most proud of its remarkable history. The sawmill was founded in January 1898 by the “Valnev Brothers Partnership” on a bank of the Maimaksa River. Originally the mill had three frame saws, but already in 1903 the fourth saw was added. All sawmill goods produced here were exported to foreign markets. A.Valnev, one of the brothers living in England, provided for marketing and sales of the sawn goods, while the other founder, D.Valnev, who lived in Arkhangelsk, managed logging and floating of timber, its cutting and shipment of finished products. Since launching of the production and till the revolution of 1917 the mill had been managed by I.Maslov. The sawmill developed rapidly since the very beginning: by 1911 it underwent total modernization resulting in establishment of new production lines, purchase of 6 steamships and building of a new workshop with four high-speed frame saws. In 1920 the mill was nationalized and under number 25 handed over to the regional timber industry committee, along with a plant of the “Nord” society which went under number 22. Later the enterprise was incorporated into the “Severoles” trust. In 1922 the mill was named after N.Levachov, a leading worker of the production facilities in Maimaksa, one of the founders of the sawmill’s workers trade union, who was shot during the period of foreign intervention in 1919. In 1928 the sawmill No.25 was recognized the best enterprise of the Soviet Union as a result of a contest held by the Supreme Soviet of National Economy of the USSR. The plant was awarded with the first, so-called “full” prize. On October 1, 1955, by order of the Ministry of Timber and Woodworking Industry, the sawmill plants No. 22 and No. 25 were merged and the Arkhangelsk Sawmilling and Woodworking Industrial Complex No.1 (“LDK-1”) was established instead. In 1998 Sawmill 25 was established upon the production base of the Arkhangelsk LDK-1. Soon the plant merged into the “Titan” Group of Companies founded in 1990. The “Titan” Group is one of the largest timber industry companies of Russia incorporating technologically integrated forestry enterprises, among which are logging, sawmilling, cellulose production companies and finished product manufacturers. Today the Group includes the sawmill, timber harvesting enterprises, cardboard packing factories, logistic companies, numerous service sphere enterprises (including the largest in the Arkhangelsk region shopping mall and a supermarket, the “Maliye Karely” tourist complex, hotels, restaurants, etc.). Total annual turnover of all companies of the Group exceeds USD 600 million. The workforce numbers some 25 thousand employees. On August 8, 2003, the decision was made to affiliate another woodworking plant, Tsiglomen Sawmill Ltd., to Sawmill 25. After this merge Sawmill 25 became the largest sawmill in the North-West of Russia. Since 2003 the mill has been undergoing large-scale production modernization. A new sawmilling line was put in operation in June 2004. By the end of 2005 a new boiler-house was launched at the Tsiglomen production unit. In 2006 a number of projects relating to construction of a kilns, a dry sorting and packaging line and a cogeneration plant were started at the Maimaksa production unit.