In 1926-1928 Mossolov composed the ballet Stal (steel) intending to glorify the time of industrialization. He wanted to express the feeling of the new industrial, urbanized machine-age in a barbaric style. Zavod (The Iron Foundry) is a short piece from this ballet and it made Mossolov the first international celebrity among the young Russian composers in the time after the First World War. The piece attracted attention through its use of a metal sheet to create the sound of clashing iron and steel.