The building of the Union plant in Riga

The Union plant was founded in 1898 on the basis of the Russian-Baltic Electrotechnical Plant. In 1904, the plant became the property of the German concern AEG. In 1905, it was taken over by the Russian Society of the General Electricity Company (VKE), a subsidiary of the AEG concern. The company manufactured electrical equipment for naval vessels, electric trams and other electrical appliances. In 1915, in connection with the outbreak of the First World War, the enterprise was evacuated to Kharkov. Subsequently, the VEF plant (1919-1999), the largest and most famous Latvian enterprise in the 20th century, was located in the shops of the former VKE.