Kovalev, Fedor Lukich

Born Apr. 22 (May 5), 1909, in the settlement of Glushkovo, in present-day Kursk Oblast. Soviet process engineer, one of the initiators of the mass introduction of advanced working methods into production; candidate of technical sciences (1954). Became a member of the CPSU in 1939.

In 1948, as the chief engineer at the Proletarskaia Pobeda Fine Cloth Mill in Moscow Oblast, he proposed a method for studying and disseminating the experience of production innovators. The method involved the selection of the most advanced work methods and adapting them for mass incorporation. Kovalev’s method has been widely used at enterprises of the USSR and the other socialist countries. In 1956, Kovalev became the director of the Central Scientific Research Institute of the Wool Industry. His work has been in the area of production organization and the creation of flow lines and automated lines in the wool industry. He was awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1951.