Oil refining for farmers: TAIF-NK takes part in AgroVolga-2024 international exhibition
Not only motor fuel but also fertilisers: how the oil refiners surprised the AgroVolga participants and guests
AgroVolga-2024 took International Agro-Industrial Exhibition place at Kazan Expo International Exhibition Center. TAIF-NK joint-stock company became one of its active participants. In addition to traditional types of products — motor fuels, straight-run gasoline, sulphur new products were presented as well. It is the first signs of new directions of production of one of the most innovative oil refining companies in the country. Read more about it in a report of Realnoe Vremya.
“Every year the number of AgroVolga participants increases”
Kazan Expo welcomed distinguished guests on day two out of three: Vice Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Andrey Razin visited the exhibition site together with Rais of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov.
“Every year the number of participants and guests of AgroVolga constantly increases. This time, more than 400 companies from regions of Russia and neighbouring and remote countries are participating in it,” emphasised Rais of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov.
Rustam Minnikhanov, Andrey Razin, heads of ministries and departments of the republic accompanied by Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan and Minister of Agriculture and Food of Tatarstan Marat Zyabbarov first took part in presenting the keys to 10 new car shops to the Tatarstan Consumer Cooperation’s system and then went to tour the exhibition site. The scale was impressive: 48 hectares were densely packed with tractors, harvesters, special equipment and machinery for producing and processing agricultural products; expositions of companies offering new seeding and breeding material, fertilisers, forage, systems for digitalisation of production processes and much more, not only from Russia, but also from the Republic of Belarus, Hungary, China, Iran. At the stand of the Republic of Turkiye, the distinguished guests were greeted with coffee and a flow of information about possible areas of cooperation.
Iran was represented on a large scale. Rustam Minnikhanov also stayed here for some time. However, he and his entourage devoted even more time to a joint stand of TAIF Group.
“Where are the raw materials from?”
Most of the TAIF Group's exhibition area was given to TAIF-NK oil refinery. It was introduced at the exhibition by Deputy General Director for Commerce Aryoem Shcherbina.
“This year we are supplying our dear farmers with high-quality diesel fuel at a reduced price. We provide priority conditions for shipping,” he told the participants of the tour.
It turned out that Rustam Minnikhanov not only has an excellent command of this information but also knows exactly the volumes of fuel that has been shipped by oil refineries to the farmers of the republic this year:
“70,000 tonnes of discounted fuel,” he voiced the figures to the vice agriculture minister.
The rais’ attention was drawn to a flask filled with something similar to pills. It turned out that this was a new product from TAIF-NK: the first product in a new production area.
“This year we have entered a new market for us — fertilisers. This is sulphur bentonite. A pilot industrial batch was produced jointly with our colleagues from Kazan Agrarian University. It was tested on seven crops,” explained Artyom Shcherbina.
“Sulphur, as we understand, is yours, but what about bentonite?” asked Rustam Minnikhanov.
It turned out that this component also comes from Tatarstan. It is supplied to Nizhnekamsk by a company from Almetyevsk.
Hot-button issue
The decision to develop a new direction, the production of sulfur bentonite, is balanced and justified for TAIF-NK. Here, in a conversation with Realnoe Vremya’s journalist, head of the Department of Technical Re-equipment and Long-Term Development of TAIF-NK JSC Niyaz Khamidullin explained everything.
“First, after the delivery of the Heavy Residues High Conversion Complex, the volumes of extracted sulphur increased. Previously, we used to sell it as raw material. Now, our company is at the peak of its development, and we are looking for new areas and niches for production expansion. Fertiliser production is a promising area. Moreover, I recently spoke with a specialist from Kazan Agrarian University, he said that both in Tatarstan and in Russia in general, more than 95% of land has sulphur deficiency,” he explained.
TAIF-NK decided to take on the task of fixing the situation. Last year, it signed an agreement to test new products at test fields of Kazan Agrarian University. And the results are impressive:
“These studies have shown very high efficiency for crops such as sunflower, rapeseed, soybeans, maize, wheat, peas, barley where the increase in yield is measured in a tonne per hectare. This is a very good result. Also, sulphur bentonite acts as a fungicide — it protects plants from rotting. It allows increasing the harvest of oil from sunflower and rapeseed seeds. We have a final statement on sulphur bentonite from the agrarian university, and we are ready to provide it to everyone for examination. We are ready to produce pilot batches so that agricultural holdings and farms can evaluate its effectiveness themselves to try it out, so to speak,” noted Niyaz Khamidullin.
The advantage of encapsulating sulphur in bentonite this way is to ensure a gradual release of the active substance into the soil. And this results in prolonged replenishment of sulphur in the soil, fertilisation and protection of plants as well as an increase in profits for farmers.
Joint work
The participants of the tour also paid attention to other companies of TAIF Group represented at the joint stand — a chain of petrol stations TAIF-NK AZS and the only manufacturer of polyalphaolefin oils in Russia TAIF-SM.
“TAIF-NK AZS has the largest chain of petrol stations in Tatarstan. And most of our petrol stations cover the regions of the republic. In other words, we are the closest station to our farmers and are ready to supply high-quality motor fuel directly from the manufacturer — TAIF-NK company,” emphasised Director for Commerce of the company Nail Shaydullin.
President of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan Rifkat Minnikhanov’s who came to TAIF Group’s stand a bit later asked the head of TAIF-SM and the rais of Tatarstan the same thing:
“Both Rustam Minnikhanov and Rifkat Minnikhanov were interested in our capacities and our capabilities. The exhibition is presenting a simply huge amount of equipment — both made in Russia and abroad — running on both classic types of motor fuels and gas. And the question was simple: are we ready to provide a sufficient amount of the product substituting imports and improving the product range? We reported that we could do it. In terms of required volumes and even a better quality ensuring increased repair intervals. We preach the use of synthetic lubricants, which is environmentally friendly and saves time and money,” Director General of TAIF-SM Alexey Osipov confidently claimed.
More than 15,000 visitors
This is the number of representatives and managers of companies and organisations in the agro-industrial, livestock and related industries were expected at the AgroVolga-2024 site this year. And it is not only simple curiosity but establishing new business contacts, signing hundreds of agreements, organising reference visits in the foreseeable future leading to contract signing.
“Tatarstan is one of the leaders in agricultural production in the country. The volume of products made by the industry last year exceeded 289 billion rubles in monetary terms. The success of the republic’s agriculture is not only the hard work of workers in the agro-industrial complex but also a result of their coordinated work together with other industrial sectors. And such an exhibition as AgroVolga is an important event for agriculture not only in Tatarstan but also in Russia as a whole,” noted Rustam Minnikhanov.