In the past the name of the factory was primarily associated with various types of military equipment produced for the Polish Army, ranging from the wz.

As part of the Old-Polish Industrial Region the new factory enjoyed considerable success and soon the crew rose to over 500 workers.

[1] In 1907 Ludwik Starke's son, Stanisław, bought the Głęboczka farm at the outskirts of the city of Kielce with the intention of opening his own steelworks.

The new steelworks was named "Ludwików", after Starke's father, and remained part of the original joint stock company.

In addition, the company also produced a wide variety of pipes, pots, kettles, stoves, ovens, horse cart parts and many more products.

Also in 1936 the executives have signed a large contract with the Polish State Railways for delivery of thousands of railroad switches and signals.

[1] Shortly before the war the engineering department started preparations for the production of SHL's first passenger car designed by Stanisław Pragłowski.

However, the outbreak of World War II and the Nazi and Soviet Invasion of Poland brought end to the ambitious plans.

The factory was confiscated by the Germans, given to the "Maschinen-und Waggonbau G.m.b.H" company as "Werke Ludwigshütte" while all modern machines were dismantled and sent to Germany.

The motorcycle plant was turned into a repair workshop of the Wehrmacht, while the steel works continued to produce basic agricultural machinery and kettles.

After hours the workers secretly produced a wide variety of tools needed by the local population (axes, carbide lamps), but also barrels for the underground Vis pistol production.

As the front was nearing, in late 1944 the German authorities dismantled virtually all remaining machines and sent them westwards, thus destroying the factory.

In November 1945 many of the machines dismantled by the withdrawing Germans the previous year were discovered in Gliwice and were returned to Kielce, which allowed for production to resume at a much larger scale.

During the 1960s it was decided to gradually phase out the construction of new SHL models and convert the factory to an automobile parts production plant.

It also continued to provide auto parts to other Polish automobile manufacturers, notably the Polski Fiat, Nysa, Star, Żuk and Polonez.

The earlier operates the central metal presses, while the latter continues the production of specialised vehicles and automotive parts, notably for FIAT and Volvo.