On August 31, JSC Firm "August" celebrates 30 years since its foundation. Today it is the largest Russian manufacturer and developer of plant protection chemicals (CPPP) and one of the two leaders on the domestic pesticide market: at the end of 2019, 44 million hectares of crops were protected with the help of the company's products in terms of a single treatment. Currently, "August" is intensively increasing exports to non-CIS countries - during 2017-2019. its volume has quadrupled, and Latin America is a priority area of development. In 2020, "August" was the first Russian manufacturer to launch its own synthesis of active ingredients for drugs and came to a full production cycle. And as part of the development of the agricultural direction, the company this year increased its land bank to 100 thousand hectares - in the future it should increase to 250-300 thousand hectares.
The total sales of August products in 2019 exceeded RUB 27 billion. The fastest growing segment was the non-CIS countries: sales volume in the period from 2017 to 2019. grew from 12,3 to 47,4 million dollars - almost 4 times. Today the company is represented on the markets of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, however, Latin America is a priority among 26 countries of August's presence. This is a large market, where the company decided to go through direct sales and expand its portfolio by acquiring local companies: thus, for example, August entered the markets of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. To date, the company's staff in Latin America includes more than 100 employees, Russian technologists are in great demand here, and August's dealers are also the largest transnational companies: for example, in Brazil, where a significant part of cotton will be processed by August's defoliants. fields, the products of the domestic company are sold by Bayer and Nufarm.
The August company should also complete its 19th anniversary year successfully, despite the COVID-XNUMX pandemic. “Since the end of March, most of the office employees have been transferred to“ remote work ”, but all our factories and regional offices have been working - with certain restrictions related to compliance with sanitary standards. Moreover, the factories produced products and shipped significantly more to agricultural consumers than last year. The company has demonstrated a high level of stress resistance and adaptability, ”says Alexander Uskov, General Director of Firm“ August ”JSC.
By its 30th anniversary, "August", which started a business selling drugs from other companies, has come to a full production cycle. He was the first Russian manufacturer of CPPPs to launch his own full-fledged synthesis of active ingredients at the modern plant Hubei Avgust Pesticide Co. Ltd. in China, created in cooperation with a Chinese partner. The new enterprise is located in Hubei province, its design capacity is 7,5 thousand tons of products per year. The first shipments to the company's production sites in Russia and Belarus have recently started. Already in 2021, farmers will receive plant protection products from the August company, made on the basis of their own active ingredients.
Vurnarsky plant of mixed preparations, located in the Republic of Chuvashia, - the very first production site of the company - this year celebrated 90 years since its foundation. Since the enterprise became part of "August" in 1995, it has undergone a large-scale reconstruction and today it is the most modern plant for the production of CPPP in Eastern Europe, producing more than 100 plant protection drugs in almost all existing preparative forms. The geography of deliveries of its products is wide and covers not only Russia and the CIS countries, but also Colombia, Morocco, Algeria, Slovenia, etc. One of the most powerful and advanced plants for the production of CPPP in the CIS was built and launched in Belarus: the August- Bel ”currently produces about 90 types of pesticides for Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Kazakhstan, as well as for Latin America and South Africa. The newest and most modern plant "August-Alabuga" in the Republic of Tatarstan, built according to the unique technology "everything under one roof", has successfully completed its first year. The enterprise with a production capacity of 50 million liters of drugs per year is equipped with modern Russian and imported equipment with a high degree of automation of work processes.
In 2019, the area of crops protected by the Augusta preparations in Russia amounted to 44 million hectares in terms of a single treatment, and in 2020 they should overcome the milestone of 45 million hectares. One of the most important components of the pesticide sales business in "August" is the information and technological support from the company, not only on the use of its preparations, but also on other factors in the formation of yields. Wherever there are representative offices and subsidiaries of JSC Firm "August", experienced technologists work together with partners-agrarians, identifying problems and suggesting ways to solve them. Collaboration did not stop even during the acute phase of the pandemic. Another significant area of activity of "August" - agronomic consulting centers, where specialists in laboratory conditions accurately determine what exactly the plant suffers from.
Today the company is actively developing its own agricultural direction - "Agroproject". Having started in the early 2000s with 2 farms in Chuvashia and Krasnodar Territory, since 2017 Agroproject began to intensively build up its land bank: large farms were acquired in Kazakhstan and Tatarstan, and in 2020 the area of land lands reached almost 100 thousand. ha. For 2024, the task has been set to bring it up to 250-300 thousand hectares, and the total production of agricultural products - up to 1 million tons. For farming, a resource-saving system of zero tillage - No-till was chosen, which is especially effective in regions with a moisture deficit. The equipping of farms with modern field-cultivation equipment continues: if in 2018 the number of heavy tractors was 21, then in 2020 - 36, the number of seeding complexes has grown during this time from 20 to 35, the number of self-propelled sprayers - from 7 to 27, combines - from 34 to 80. Today “Augusta” farms are not only a full-fledged business, but also platforms where partners are shown new drugs and innovative plant protection schemes.
During its existence, the research center (SIC) of the company has developed and registered 110 drugs and their kits for use in the agro-industrial complex and personal subsidiary plots (LPH). The launch of a laboratory in Moscow in 2000 and the creation of innovative preparative forms of plant protection products became an additional incentive for the modernization of the plant in Vurnary, and subsequently for the construction of new modern production facilities. Currently, the center is located in leased areas, but at the end of 2018, it was decided to construct its own research center building in the science city of Chernogolovka - to date, pre-design study has been completed for the facility. Thanks to the constant movement forward and its initiatives, the "August" company became a locomotive for the development of the industry, and Russia created its own industry for the production of chemical plant protection products in opposition to the monopoly of transnational corporations that reigned in the market in the 90s. In particular, August's products have revolutionized the market for plant protection products for private farms, setting new standards in terms of assortment, quality and ease of packaging. Today, the sales volume of the company's agricultural products in the private household plots segment has reached 1,8 billion rubles a year. In 2019, more than 45 million units of products were sold - that is, on average, every third Russian purchased one or another product of "August" from the range for private household plots.
The company "August" has been actively and purposefully pursuing a policy of corporate social responsibility for many years. Caring for people is one of the most important corporate values of the company. Thus, in Vurnary, where the Augusta plant is a city-forming enterprise, the company built an 80-apartment residential building to improve the living conditions of its employees, as well as a sports complex, a fitness center and a swimming pool, and laid out a health and recreation park. On a regular basis, "August" supports and finances the sports club "Chemist", in 2015-2017. the stadium was reconstructed for the athletes. For 15 years now, "August" has been helping the Kovalevsky orphanage of the Nerekhtsky district of the Kostroma region. During this time, 3 cottages were built here for 6 families, in which foster children are brought up, a football stadium appeared, a swimming pool is being built.
“Wherever“ August ”comes, it changes the space: new buildings, workshops, social facilities appear,” says Alexander Uskov. “But the first thing we do is to multiply labor productivity and, therefore, its importance. Two key companies of "Augusta" - JSC Firm "August" and "August-Bel" - employ a little less than 2 thousand people, but annually they transfer about $ 100 million to budgets and extra-budgetary funds, that is, $ 50 thousand each. for every worker. This confirms the importance and significance of the work of our employees. "
Material provided by the press service of the company "August"