Overview
with the designation 159HT1E, bearing the logo of Nuklonas (top right), manufactured 1990 Nuklonas (PO Box M-5621) is a former military manufacturer of integrated circuits in Šiauliai, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Soviet times
The factory was established in 1966. According to Algirdas Brazauskas, it was established in Šiauliai because , Minister of Electronic Industry, was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in the city. The factory occupied a territory of ; its buildings had of floor space. At its peak it employed some 4,200 workers. The factory produced modern integrated circuits for the most important civilian and military instruments. When in 1984, United States formed the Strategic Defense Initiative to re-ignite an arms race with the Soviet Union, Soviet Ministry of Electronic Industry suggested that the factory be expanded by . Lithuanian communists, including Petras Griškevičius and Algirdas Brazauskas, refused. The episode is cited as an example of local soviet officials defending Lithuanian interest against orders from Moscow.
From 1986 on, the factory produced BK 0010 personal computers to be used in high schools.
Post-independence
In 1990–92, alongside its main production, the factory produced monocrystalline silicon solar cells. In October 1997, the creditors of AB Nuklonas decided to liquidate the company. In 1989, the enterprise commissioned artist to produce a tapestry for its newly constructed culture house. The work Saulėtas miškas (Sunny Forest) measures and is recognized by the Lithuanian Records Book as the largest in Lithuania. Due to the Nuklonas bankruptcy, the tapestry was sold back to Simutis. The university wanted to establish Šiauliai University Science and Technology Park, but the project failed due to debts and mismanagement.