The factory was founded by Pyotr Vasilyevich Sergiyev in 1850 on the right bank of the Sura River, amidst an oak grove intersected by a canal. In 1866, a steam engine was installed here, and in 1896, the first electric installation in Penza was established, allowing the factory premises to be illuminated with electric light. By 1890, about 550 people were employed at the factory, producing various types of paper worth half a million rubles. In 1900 and 1908, the paper produced at the Sergiyev partnership was awarded a gold medal at the international exhibition in Paris. In 1904, an illegal union of paper workers was formed at the enterprise, uniting 107 people and becoming legal in 1907. In 1910, a pulp plant was built at the Sergiyev partnership factory.

In 1918, the factory was nationalized, and from November 1922, it was named 'Beacon of the Revolution'. In 1992, the paper mill 'Beacon of the Revolution' was transformed into an open joint-stock company 'Mayak'.