Within industry, three basic types of NPO may be 

 differentiated according to their final product: (1) 

 those that specialize in developing primarily new 

 products and technological equipment for their manu- 

 facture; (2) those that concentrate on creating new 

 means of mechanization and automation of production, 

 including management information systems; and (3) 

 those that engage in the development of new materi- 

 als and technological processes. The third type is 

 less prevalent than the other two associations. A few 

 NPOs, like Mikrobioprom (microbiological industry), 

 Soiuznauchp litprom (wood processing) , and Plastpoli- 

 mer (chemical industry) , engage simultaneously in de- 

 veloping new products, new processes, and new kinds 

 of equipment and automated devices. 



NPOs differ also in terms of the scope of their 

 specialization and product use. The majority are of 

 branch importance. However, some NPOs like Plastpol- 

 imer are primarily subbranch while still others are 

 essentially interbranch. The latter include Soiuzna- 

 uchplitprom and Soiuzsteklomash (glass machine build- 

 ing) , which develop articles used in construction, 

 electronics, and defense as well as in the automobile, 

 electrical engineering, instrument manufacture, light, 

 food, chemical, and medical industries. Similarly, 

 the Ail-Union NPO Soiuztranspr ogress was formed in 

 1974 to design, develop, and install transport con- 

 tainer systems throughout the country. 39 



Numerous benefits are ascribed to these new inte- 

 grated and integrating structures. The process of 

 creating and applying new technology has been reduced 

 in many NPOs by two and even three times. The qual- 

 ity of research, development, and innovation is also 

 higher. In the electrical engineering industry the 

 share of output stamped with the seal of highest qual- 

 ity is 1.5 to 2.5 times greater in the NPOs than in 

 the branch as a whole. *■*■ In the associations from 40 

 to 50 percent (and climbing to 80 and 90 percent) of 

 completed R&D is actually introduced while in autono- 

 mous scientific and technological organizations only 

 15 percent is successfully utilized. Labor and ma- 

 terial costs are also reduced because of less dupli- 



207 



