T.B.Fruit, one of the largest processors of fruits and berries in Ukraine, intends to invest EUR3-5 million in the launch of a mandarin processing plant with a capacity of 50,000-60,000 tonnes in Georgia by December 2018. “Mandarins will be processed in Georgia and imported to Ukraine. In late autumn this year we’ll start production. This will be the processing of 50,000-60,000 tonnes of mandarins,” group founder Taras Barschovsky told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, mandarin juice produced in Georgia will be bottled in Ukraine under the trademark Galicia.
The founder of the group pointed out that 35-40% of T.B.Fruit’s business is concentrated in Ukraine.
T.B.Fruit Group was established in July 2011, uniting all assets of Taras Barschovsky: Yablunevy Dar, T.B.Fruit Dwikozy fruit processing plant in Poland, Tank Trans Ukraine and Tank Trans Polska, which transport bulk cargo by road, and a fruit-growing complex, which includes apple-trees, cherry-trees, and strawberry and raspberry fields on 700 hectares.
T.B.Fruit Group owns eight juice concentrate plants in Ukraine, Moldova and Poland.
T.B.Fruit produces freshly squeezed juice under the Galicia trademark in Ukraine.
The Milk Alliance Group preliminarily plans to boost investment by over 20% in 2018 compared with 2017, to UAH 148 million. “Last year, we spent UAH 122 million on capital investments and the development of our enterprises. This year we planned UAH 148 million, but I see that we will spend about UAH 170 million. We have not yet invested in line with the capital investment plan, since the appetite comes with eating Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Group Serhiy Vovchenko told reporters. Total capital investments of the group since 2012 have amounted to UAH 485 million.
According to the head of the council, in the second half of 2018 a new line will be launched at the Bashtanka Cheese Factory.
“Under the order of the Arab countries, we have started making mozzarella, which is subject to deep freezing, in blocks for their pizzerias. Now they also asked for grated frozen cheese and mozzarella. This equipment for slicing and shock freezing will cost about EUR 70,000. We have already ordered the equipment. It was made for us under an individual order,” Vovchenko said.
The chairman of the council said that the plans to expand the capacities at the Yagotyn butter factory and the plant for the production of the Yagotynske dlia Dietei brand.
“This year in Yagotyn we are completing the project of a high-tech warehouse. The construction stage was completed before the New Year. Now we are equipping it with process automation, storage and shipment units. We are talking about logistics processes. This is a multimillion-dollar investment. At the Yagotyn factory we will install a new cold room for butter this year,” Vovchenko said. He said that the group plans to increase the area of the Yagotynske dlia Dietei plant by 30% (village Zgurivka, Kyiv region). “We are increasing the plant’s area, first of all, to improve logistics. We intend to install one more ultrafiltration unit and an additional packaging line for “spoonful yogurts” where we can produce up to eight tonnes of products per day. The technical capacity will increase by 15%,” Vovchenko said.
He said that the group seeks to finish the project in Q3 2018. “We have stopped producing milk in glass bottles. It is expensive in production, and instead we launched another packaging line last year. Now we have milk and cream in packages for 200 grams. This year we are putting a new line ordered in Israel, for the Hopsy trademark, “spoonful yogurts” and desserts. It will cost us $1 million with installation,” he said.
Milk Alliance was established in June 2006 as a holding company with a charter capital of UAH 23.5 million and a balance sheet, 99.9% of which consists of long-term financial investments.
The Aurum Group, a multi-profile industrial and investment group, plans to invest in development of some sectors to increase its competitiveness, in particular, some UAH 100 million in development of wagon building and some UAH 50 million in agricultural business, the group has said in a press release. “According to the long-term development strategy of Aurum Group, this year we plan to invest about UAH 100 million in the development of the private rolling stock of the country in order to minimize the existing acute shortage of gondola cars and grain carriers,” the group’s founder Alona Lebedieva said in a press release.
According to her, the funds will be used to build new railway freight cars on the basis of the Diesel Plant LLC, which is part of the group, which will later be transferred to the management of the leasing company of the group – Trans Energy LLC.
According to the press release, UAH 30 million has already been allocated for technical re-equipment of the foundry, thanks to which an automatic molding line has been bought and ready for installation. It uses the method of cold-hardening mixtures produced by Omega Foundry Machinery (Great Britain).
“The modernization of the foundry production of the group will allow, with a reduction in the cost of production, to make high-precision castings with high efficiency. The line will also meet the needs of the Diesel Plant in the production of medium-carload molding, for example, parts like the front and rear stop. Later the plant plans to mold more railway products,” Lebedieva said.
She also announced the intention to more actively develop a new agricultural division for the group this year, where it is planned to invest about UAH 50 million. In particular, it is planned to build the entire production chain – from planting, storing and processing agricultural products.
Lebedieva said that if before 2018 Aurum Group planted only grain and a number of niche crops (flax, mustard, millet), then taking into account the market situation and, according to the group’s development strategy, this year efforts will focus on the creation of a product with high added value.
In addition, according to the founder of the group, transactions to invest in domestic IT projects, details of which have not yet been disclosed, are at the stage of completion. “Ukrainian IT specialists are in great need of additional financing, and we plan to invest in several projects like this in 2018. I would be happy if our participation will contribute to the fact that these talented guys will remain in the country,” the founder of Aurum Group said.
Cygnet agricultural company plans to invest $700,000 in reconstruction and modernization of its sugar refinery in Zhytomyr region in 2018.
According to a posting on the company’s website, the works are intended to increase efficiency of the sugar refinery to 2,750 tonnes a day, reduce gas, limestone, coal, raw materials consumption and boost the quality of finished products.
Overhauls and current repair would start in the first half of April.
The company also said that Cygnet sowed 59% of areas with corn, 14% with soybeans, 14% with sugar beets and 10% with winter wheat.
As reported, Cygnet in 2017 invested $2.7 million in the modernization of a sugar factory in Zhytomyr region.
The company cultivates 25,000 hectares in Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia regions, where it grows corn, soybeans, wheat, and sugar beets.
Cygnet also has a dairy business line (about 700 cows), its products are sold to local processors, and the elevator capacity is 60,000 tonnes.
Nestle, one of the world’s largest producers of food, will invest UAH 700 million in the reconstruction and modernization of Mivina factory in Kharkiv. Nestle CEO for Ukraine and Moldova Ansgar Bornemann and Head of Kharkiv Regional State Administration Yulia Svetlychna said this during a press briefing in Kharkiv.
“The company began preparations for the modernization of Mivina factory in 2015. The final project plan was approved in early 2018. The main goal is to develop the factory, improve working conditions and increase the competitiveness of products,” the Nestle official said.
According to him, the project will be implemented in two stages by transforming the existing logistics center into a production facility with the subsequent development of all necessary infrastructure and transferring production lines to new premises.
“Reconstruction will help not only modernize the enterprise but also improve the technology of production. Updating the recipe for Mivina products, in particular reducing fat content in products, will allow meeting the criteria for assessing the nutrition foundation of Nestle products, which are based on dietary recommendations of the World Health Organization,” Bornemann noted. The head of the Kharkiv administration, in turn, reported that almost half of the products produced at the Kharkiv factory are exported to 17 countries in Europe and the world.
The company plans to complete all the stages of reconstruction and commission the updated enterprises by 2021.
