Mriya Agro Holding

Mriya Agro Holding is a leading Ukrainian agroindustrial company. Mriya Agro Holding was founded in 1992. Mriya operate by 298 thousand hectares of fertile lands in Western Ukraine. The Agro Holding grows wheat, sugar beets, potatoes, rapeseed, corn, barley and buckwheat.

Mriya Agro Holding owns a seed plant with capacity of 300 tons per day, over 1600 units of agricultural machinery and transportation facilities, three silos complexes and grainaries with total storage capacity of 670 thousand tons, potato storage facilities with capacity of 96 thousand tons and modern logistics centers.

The Company's products are supplied to more than 20 countries.

Since 2008, the Company's shares are traded at the platform of the Frankfurt STOCK Exchange.

Specialties

Crop Cultivation (Wheat, Sugar Beet, Potato, Barley, Corn, Rapeseed and Buckwheat), Silos and Granaries, Seed Plant, Potato Storage Facilities, Logistics Centers, Education in Agro, Agro Research and Scientific Development.

Name of the company

Name of the company - Mriya when translated into English means ‘dream’.

Management

• Ivan Guta - Founder, Chairman of the Board of Directors
• Klavdiya Guta - co-Founder, member of the Supervisory Board
• Mykola Guta - Founder, CEO since 2008
• Andriy Guta - Founder, Executive Director, Vice President
• Andriy Buryak – Executive Director, CFO
• Vladyslav Lugovskiy - Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer

History

1992-1995: The Early Years

Mriya was founded on April 17, 1992 by Ivan and Klavdiya Guta. The company started its activities as peasant farm research and production enterprise, having received land in use from the State Reserve Fund in Ternopil region. The area of arable land made up only 50 ha.

In 1994 the Company increased its land resources to 150 ha and started co-operation with American experts in order to acquire the first international experience in agriculture.

In 1995 the Company implemented advanced potato cultivation technologies and in the same year upgraded potato storage facilities, located in the Vasylkivtsi village. Gradually all the potato storage facilities were equipped with the temperature and humidity control systems as well as sorting lines.

1996-1999: Implemantation of advanced technologies

Since 1996 the Company has started investments in modern agricultural machinery, in 1996 the first machinery produced by John Deere and Grimme was purchased.

1997-1998: Mriya expanded its land resources to more than 1000 ha. The company paid special attention to the development of infrastructure, the first silo with the capacity of 3500 tons was built in the Vasylkivtsi village.

1998-1999: Mriya started strategic partnership with the company Ukrainska Mova (later acquired by Kraft Foods) to supply potato for chips production and concluded agreement with Slavutas Malt Plant (since 2003 part of Soufflet Group) to supply high-quality barley for malt production.

2000-2006: Years of effective management

2001: The Company established its own school for agronomists to provide its staff with professional development and to share experience with international experts. The company set up its own machinery fleet with powerful machines manufactured by the leading world producers.

2002-2006: The management was strengthened when Andriy and Mykola Guta, sons of Mriya’s founders, joined the company. Mriya started construction of the second silo in Gusyatyn and increased its land resources to 10 000 ha. Mriya set up a partnership with the leading agricultural consulting company in Europe - Velcourt, from 2007 until 2011.

2007-2009: Infrastructure development

2007: Cultivated land increased to 91 000 ha.

2008: Mriya expanded its land under cultivation to 150 000 ha and increased storage capacity of Gusyatyn silo up to 77 000 tonnes. The company conducted private placement of 20% of its shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

2009: The Company completed the first stage of silo construction with the capacity of 60,000 tons. Production and seed treatment facilities with a daily capacity of 300 tons were launched. Land resources were expanded to 201,000 ha.

2010-2011: International cooperation and further infrastructure development

In 2010 Mriya obtained loan from IFC. The company implemented GPS-monitoring system for machinery and started construction of a powerful potato storage facility.

In 2011 the company increased its cultivated land to 240,000 ha and issued Eurobonds for US$ 250 million. The training center for future agronomists "Ukrainian Agrarian School" was established, where students can get acquainted with the best international agrarian standards as well as gain practical experience in modern production facilities of the leading Ukrainian agrarian company Mriya Agro Holding.

As at 31 December 2011, the Group operated storage capacities for grains and oilseeds with an aggregate storage capacity of 670,000 tonnes and 96,000 tonnes for potatoes. The Group’s modern grain storage facilities are equipped with crop cleaning and drying equipment, which ensures high quality preservation for longer periods of time. Silos are equipped with modern, high-capacity crop loading and unloading systems, and have rail sidings that are connected to the national railway network.

2012

Mriya increased cultivated land to 298,000 ha.

Operations

Major part of Company’s assets and activities are focused on production of agricultural goods. The Company has a vertically integrated structure that enables to manage effectively production and sales chain.

Land resources management

Land resources management is focused on unlocking the full potential in Ukrainian agribusiness and taking advantage of black soil in Western Ukraine.

• Cluster approach in land resources management - Due to the cluster model and attractive geographical location Mriya benefits from key competitive advantages that allow to preserve and manage effectively its land resources. Mriya’s land areas stretch into four neighboring regions: Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, Chernivtsy and Ivano-Frankivsk. The company’s headquarter is located in the village Vasylkivtsi. Company’s land bank is divided into 14 separate large adjacent clusters - 11 000-27 000 ha each. Each cluster is headed by a separate production team with their agronomists.
• Land acquisition and integration - Nineteen years of work experience in the region, established contacts with local residents and a team of experts, namely lawyers, notaries and agronomists, enable the company to expand land resources with quality land allotments within the existing clusters. While taking decisions to work on new areas, the Company pays special attention to environmental effect and local communities’ interests.

Crop planning and cultivation

• Crop planning and cultivation is the process of planning based on soil characteristics, crop rotation and diversification, use of different types of fertilizers, the need in crops protection, market demand and raw materials costs.
• Production processes - Own seed plant meets the demand in high-quality seed material, use of quality fertilizers and crop protection and implementation of modern technologies of land tilling. The company also uses Low-Till cultivation technology.
• Modern machinery and advanced technologies - Own modern agricultural equipment and machinery fleet ensures all agricultural scopes of work to be carried out reliably and effectively and also provides the execution of all production processes in due course. GPS-system and 24-hour Call-center enable to use machinery effectively and provide 24-hour support as well as coordinate the work of mechanics and operators.
• Combination of own and international experience - Many years of experience matched with foreign partners achievements help to acquire valuable experience and skills in agriculture management. Mriya together with international experts has developed and successfully implemented a comprehensive training programme. Its own Agrarian school is aimed at training and promoting future experts and farm managers.

Infrastructure and logistics

• Silos and Granaries - The company operates modern silos, granaries, potato and seed storage facilities with the capacity of more than 670 000 tons for cleaning, drying and storage of crops.
• Potato storage facilities - For long-term storage the agroholding operates modern potato storage facilities, with the total capacity of 96 000 tons, equipped with sorting lines as well as humidity and temperature control systems.
• Seed plant enables production of own high-quality seeds. Seed production facilities are located in Khorostkiv city, Ternopil region.
• Logistic centers -Mriya has established its own logistic centers located near its silos and storage facilities. These centers consist of storages, service and technical support centers. There are also platforms available for convenient unloading of grain, fertilizers and industrial goods.

Products

References

• Information, Official website
• Company profile, LinkedIn
• The Time Machines, Korrespondent (2011-10-30)

External links

• Official website

de:Mriya Agro Holding ru:Мрия Агрохолдинг uk:Мрія Агрохолдинг