Miniature cement barrels were manufactured in 1914–1917 at the Nevyansk Cement Plant as advertising products. They were made according to the model of standard 155-kilo barrels in which the finished product (Portland cement) was shipped to customers.

In the early 20th century, due to the unprofitability of the Nevyansk Metallurgical Plant and the absence of Portland cement plants in the Urals, the construction of the Nevyansk Cement Plant solved the issue related to the profitability of the Nevyansk mining district. The production of cement required a large quantity of sand, clay, and limestone. All these materials could be extracted in the Nevyansk district.

The construction of the Nevyansk Cement Plant started on June 18, 1913. The project was developed in the same year by Krupp’s joint-stock company in Magdeburg, Germany. The construction of the plant was supervised by Aleksandr Kuznetsov, a well-known mining engineer and inventor in the Urals, who was involved in the development of the Ural mining industry.

On May 7, 1914, the rotary kilns of the Nevyansk Cement Plant were put into operation, and the shipment of cement to customers began. The construction of this enterprise cost 1,657,000 roubles. Its annual productivity was estimated to be 500,000 barrels, with a price per barrel of 3 roubles 50 kopecks, due to which “with the most modest and careful calculations, the profit per barrel of cement in Nevyansk will be one rouble.”

A special cooperage shop was built for the manufacture of the cement barrels in which the goods were shipped (it was demolished in 1986). The plant produced “first-class” Portland cement, which, like the famous Demidov iron, was granted the Sobol (literally: Marten) trademark.

At the end of 1914, in Petrograd, the owners of the joint-stock company issued an advertising brochure with the title “Portland cement. Sobol Trademark. Nevyansk Plant in the Perm Governorate, in the Urals.” The colorful cover depicted martens carrying a barrel of Nevyansk cement. A color poster with the same image was made as well, for advertising purposes.