KMZ Industries (Karlivka Machine-Building Plant, KMZ, Poltava region) has agreed with the Ukrainian subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, ARX (the largest insurance company in Ukraine), to insure its elevators against military risks to reduce the risks of losses for agricultural producers, the company’s press service reported on Facebook.
“Today, Ukrainian farmers continue to build and expand capacities at their own risk (…), as the consequences of arrivals can be of different scales. Since 2022, our specialists have carried out a number of repair and restoration works at elevators damaged by debris, and therefore we know how big business losses can be due to this factor,” KMZ Industries Deputy CEO for Development Borys Rybachuk explained, as quoted in the statement.
He emphasized that although KMZ Industries, thanks to the experience gained during the military invasion of the Russian Federation, offers its customers solutions that will optimize and reduce the cost of repairs for farmers, the availability of insurance can fully or partially save them from financial costs in the event of an insured event.
KMZ Industries expects that the war risk insurance service will be relevant and in demand among both small farms and large companies, as they will be able to obtain insurance coverage for a small payment compared to the indemnity limit.
The Property Insurance against Military Risks service provided by ARX covers loss or damage to the insured property solely as a result of direct and/or indirect impact from missiles, UAVs of any type, aircraft munitions, air and missile defense equipment, and any of their fragments.
The annual insurance fee is calculated individually, taking into account the location, area and value of the property.
ARX Insurance Company is a part of the international Canadian insurance group Fairfax Financial Holdings, which has been operating in the Ukrainian market for 26 years, 11 of which have been under the AXA Insurance brand.
KMZ Industries manufactures flat-bottomed and conical-bottomed silos, flour storage silos, Brice-Baker (British-designed) and DSP (Ukrainian-designed) shaft grain dryers, transportation equipment (elevators, chain, belt and screw conveyors), grain cleaning separators, assembles and automates elevator equipment and technological processes at grain storage facilities.
Dragon Capital Investments Limited (Cyprus), whose ultimate beneficiary is Tomas Fiala, owns 80% of KMZ shares, while Variant Agro Bud LLC owns 20%.
One of the largest grain market operators in Ukraine, Nibulon JV LLC (Mykolaiv), is launching a large-scale modernization of its elevator business, which will include automation, unification of services and mechanisms to ensure quality standards, the grain trader’s press service reported on Facebook.
“Additionally, the capacities of Khmilnyk, Vradiyevsky, Kolosivsky elevator and Transshipment Terminal branches will be significantly expanded,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the grain trader, the second stage of the elevator will be built at the Khmilnyk branch (Vinnytsia region), where the total investment will amount to $3.9 million, and will be equipped with four new tanks and transportation equipment. In addition, two STRAHL grain dryers will be installed to increase the drying capacity to 2200 tons per day (from scratch) to attract agricultural producers to cooperate. Previously, this branch served the needs of Nibulon’s own agricultural production exclusively.
Investments in the modernization of Vradiyivskyi (Mykolaiv region) will amount to $800,000. The company will double its capacity and change the scheme of acceptance and shipment, which will allow it to work with several crops at the same time and reduce waiting time for the grain trader’s partners.
“Kolosivskyi elevator (Mykolaiv region) will also get a second wind, with the company allocating $265 thousand for the reconstruction of the first stage. The focus is to double the productivity of grain receiving and shipping,” the agricultural holding said.
In addition, the transshipment terminal in Mykolaiv will receive $720 thousand in investments to build a new gallery that will allow it to receive cargo from water transport and transfer it to rail transport and then to the Bessarabian branch. With Mykolaiv port hub blocked, this will help reduce logistics costs on the way to Izmail ports.
“We are planning to automate all elevators and equip them with sensors that will record the service life of the equipment and automatically transfer this data to a single control center. As a result, we expect to increase the efficiency of the elevator business through optimization and automation, reduce the cost of services through the rational use of resources and increase salaries for the branch teams,” Nibulon summarized.
Nibulon JV LLC was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and crop reception complexes, a one-time storage capacity of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries. In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever 5.64 million tons of agricultural products, reaching record volumes of supplies to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Nibulon’s losses due to Russia’s full-scale military invasion in 2022 exceeded $416 million.
Currently, the grain trader is operating at 32% of capacity, has created a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines, and was forced to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
One of the largest grain market operators in Ukraine, Nibulon JV LLC (Mykolaiv), will change its elevator management model to optimize resource use and create an effective management system, the agricultural holding’s press service reported on Facebook.
According to the report, in 2024, Nibulon’s 22 elevators will be organized into six groups:
– Mykolaiv: the largest group, which includes the Transshipment Terminal, Kolosivsky Elevator, Vradiyivsky Elevator, Novoodesskyi and Voznesenskyi branches;
– Kremenchuk: Kremenchuk, Globinsk and Hradyzk branches;
– Poltava region: Romodan, Reshetylivka, Skorokhodiv, and Maryanivka branches;
– Cherkasy: Zolotonosha, Pereyaslav, Vitove branches;
– Zakhidna: currently unites the Teteriv, Smotrych, and Denikhiv branches, and will be joined by Khmilnyk after the expansion of storage capacity and installation of a dryer scheduled for fall 2024;
– Zaporizhzhia-Dnipro: Ternivska, Khortytsia and Zelenodolska branches.
The only branch that will continue to operate independently is Bessarabian, as it is located at a great distance from all other elevator groups and is focused on grain transshipment rather than storage and processing.
Each group will now have a unified administration, which will include a director, chief accountant and technical staff: chief engineer and chief power engineer. It will also be serviced by a service team responsible for scheduled and overhaul repairs at branches.
Each group of elevators will be assigned a shift team consisting of grain handling operators and other specialists who will assist the branches during the busiest periods of operation.
The department plans to automate all elevators, equip them with sensors that will record the equipment’s service life and automatically transfer this data to a single service center. The center will be staffed by dispatchers who will be responsible for monitoring the operation of all elevators’ equipment.
“As a result, we expect to increase the efficiency of the elevator business through optimization and automation, reduce the cost of services through the rational use of resources and increase salaries for branch teams by 30-40%,” Nibulon summarized.
Nibulon JV LLC was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and crop reception complexes, a one-time storage capacity of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries.
In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever 5.64 million tons of agricultural products, reaching record volumes of supplies to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Nibulon’s losses due to Russia’s full-scale military invasion in 2022 exceeded $416 million.
Currently, the grain trader is operating at 32% of capacity, has created a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines, and was forced to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
In 2023, KMZ Industries (Karlivka Machine-Building Plant, KMZ, Poltava region) fulfilled 46 contracts for the installation, supervision, consulting, and repair of equipment and built 160 thousand cubic meters of elevator capacity, the company’s press service reported on Facebook.
According to the report, this figure is almost in line with the results of pre-war 2021.
“In total, over the year, the company’s installation department managed to install so much equipment that it increased the elevator capacity of our indomitable country by 160 thousand cubic meters of storage,” the press service quoted Vyacheslav Stepanchuk, Director of Installation and Construction at KMZ Industries, as saying.
In addition, in 2023, KMZ Industries installed silos and grain dryers weighing more than 2,300 tons, transport equipment of 1.25 km, and gravity routes of about 1 km.
KMZ Industries manufactures flat-bottomed and conical-bottomed silos, flour storage silos, Brice-Baker (British-designed) and DSP (Ukrainian-designed) shaft grain dryers, transportation equipment (elevators, chain, belt and screw conveyors), grain cleaning separators, and installs and automates elevator equipment and technological processes at grain storage facilities.
Dragon Capital Investments Limited (Cyprus), whose ultimate beneficiary is Tomas Fiala, owns 80% of KMZ shares, while Variant Agro Bud LLC owns 20%.
One of the largest grain market operators in Ukraine, Nibulon JV LLC (Mykolaiv), plans to continue the reform of agricultural production in 2024, develop a de-mining unit, modernize its agricultural machinery fleet for $20 million, logistics for $14 million, and elevators for $12 million, said Andriy Vadatursky, CEO of the agricultural holding.
“Next year is the year of implementing the strategies we have developed. We have to achieve greater efficiency in all areas and comprehensively modernize the company. This will allow our people to receive higher salaries and the company to strengthen its competitiveness – both its own and the industry’s in the global market,” he wrote on Facebook on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of Nibulon’s foundation.
According to the CEO of the agricultural holding, as part of the agricultural production reform, the company will continue to develop conservation tillage technologies, introduce automation and stabilize relations with landowners.
Mr. Vadatursky noted that the agricultural holding managed to return more than 4,000 hectares of land in Mykolaiv region to operation this year thanks to the launch of a new humanitarian demining unit. “Nibulon expects to receive four demining vehicles, which is facilitated by DEG Impulse gGmbH. The sappers trained by the agricultural holding will not only clear the land bank owned by Nibulon, but will also provide services to everyone.
According to him, the $20 million received from the Danish Export Investment Fund (EIFO) will be used to purchase Claas, Horshch, Hardi, Bednar, etc. agricultural machinery.
Almost $14 million has already been allocated to modernize the agricultural holding’s logistics, which has helped to upgrade the fleet and develop the port infrastructure.
As the war forced Nibulon to reorient its export chains due to the loss of river navigation, the grain trader increased the share of grain transportation by trucks. For this purpose, the company purchased 74 new Scania trucks, STAS trailers, as well as new fuel trucks and tanks.
The port infrastructure of the Bessarabian branch was strengthened by two new Liebherr reloaders, which allow for additional transshipment of up to 1000 tons of grain per hour and will be used in other logistics models of the company.
“Thanks to the USAID Economic Support for Ukraine project, Nibulon has expanded its railroad fleet with 50 hopper cars built at Karpaty.
“The bulk of the investments will be directed to the construction of a new elevator at the Khmelnytskyi branch, reconstruction of Vradiyivskyi and Kolosivskyi elevators. In addition, Nibulon is planning to improve the automated control system of elevator complexes,” Vadatursky said.
According to him, a new SCADA software solution will be created on the basis of the existing system to ensure a continuous, transparent and controlled technological process. This will allow receiving data in real time, saving resources, increasing staff productivity and, accordingly, their salaries.
Nibulon JV LLC was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and crop reception complexes, a one-time storage capacity of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries.
In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever 5.64 million tons of agricultural products, reaching record volumes of supplies to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Nibulon’s losses from Russia’s full-scale military invasion have reached $400 million. The grain trader is currently operating at 30% of capacity and has set up a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines.
An elevator with a total capacity of 24,000 tons of simultaneous storage is under construction in Cherkassy region, the press service of the contracting company Lubnymash LLC reported.
“Silos with a total capacity of 5,500 tons each and a diameter of 22 meters, having roof panels with GreenCoat® polymer coating from SSAB (RUUKKI), providing protection against corrosion for 50 years, are almost completely installed,” the contractor wrote on Facebook.
According to his information, the installation of one of the operational storage silos with a diameter of 5.5 meters and a capacity of 300 tons has already been completed. The second one is in the queue.
In addition, the installation of shaft type grain dryer U13-SSH50M2T with a capacity of 50 tons per hour (with removal of moisture from wheat from 20% to 14%), with full external insulation of the shaft on the alternative heat generator GRECO group has been completed.
Work has begun on transport equipment with a capacity of 100 tons per hour, in particular, 13 galvanized chain conveyors with a total length of 180 meters and 5 galvanized bucket-type belt elevators with a total height of 97 meters are being installed.
According to the company’s website, PE Lubnymash is a Ukrainian manufacturer and supplier of equipment for transportation, storage, processing of grain, grain products and other materials. The company sells its products under the Lubnymash and Lubnymash brands.
The company’s plant in the Poltava region has its own foundry, forging and painting facilities, two assembly shops, a mechanical shop, tool, welding and assembly and blanking areas, warehouses of materials and finished products.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the ultimate beneficiary of the company PE Lubnymash is Maria Kudryk.
