Sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in February 1999 for materially contributing, or attempting to contribute, to a foreign country's effort to acquire, produce and/or deliver weapons of mass destruction; sanctioned by the U.S. Department of State on July 30, 1998 for engaging in proliferation activities related to Iran's missile programs; the U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Department of State sanctions were lifted on April 1, 2004.

One of Russia's leading facilities for applied research and development of graphite-based materials for military and space use; develops and produces a wide range of carbon-based materials for various industries aerospace engineering, metallurgy, machine building, chemical and petrochemical, electronics, power engineering, medicine and others; development of composites used in the brake systems in military aircraft, and in the brakes, leading edges, and nosecone of the Buran space shuttle; participates in the safety upgrade process for operational, dual-purpose graphite reactors (used for power generation and production of plutonium), led by State Unitary Enterprise I.I. Afrikantov OKB Mechanical Engineering; development of graphite-based materials for laser mirrors and for static elements in gas turbine engines.

Possesses 40 research laboratories and a pilot production plant; development of carbon and graphite fibers, carbon-carbon, ceramic matrix, metal matrix and polymeric matrix composites, and electrodes for electrolytic production of non-ferrous metals.

Reportedly attempted to ship materials used to coat ballistic missile warheads to Iran, but the shipment was intercepted in Austria; established in 1960.