"Postavy Gorodok" cheese: very tasty, very!
Chedder Red is in the lead
The cheese was even liked by the President, who recently visited the Open Joint Stock Company "Postavy Dairy Plant" during a working trip. Having familiarized himself with the production and talked with the plant's employees, Alexander Lukashenko tasted several types of products. "Very tasty! Very!" he said after tasting Chedder Red cheese.
– Next week, Chedder Red disappeared from the shelves of all food stores in our city, – says Konstantin Gailevsky, Director of OJSC "Postavy Gorodok," with a smile, describing how the surge in demand for the famous cheese forced stores to urgently replenish its stocks. – Local buyers demanded from the seller the one that the head of state liked. Meanwhile, I want to note that he also tried our other cheeses.And although the entire line of "Postavy Gorodok" brand cheeses, as people say, is marked with a quality sign and has its own recognizable taste, it must be admitted that Chedder Red is a special case. It is also very popular among our Russian neighbors. The growth in consumer interest has led to its production accounting for 30% of the plant's cheese basket!
– We also produce Chedder White, – says Tatyana Titova, Deputy Director for Production. – Both "Chedders" have a unique taste and aroma, and both are aged for 30 days. – However, all our cheeses have found their admirers. The use of special starters and cultures makes one different from another. Plant specialists continue to study the secrets of cheesemakers from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Russia. Recently, cheesemaker Svetlana Tymoshenko traveled to Uglov, Russia.
Russia is the priority
A significant portion of cheese and butter is supplied to other countries. The export share for these two items is 60%, and for cheese, it's as high as 90%! This year, 100% of exports are directed to Russia. The sales geography ranges from Smolensk to Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, and the Far East. The Russian Federation market is the most profitable in terms of sales. Foreign sales growth for the first 7 months of 2022 was 139% compared to the same period in 2021.
For the first 7 months of the year, the plant increased production of all types of products. During this period, cheese output in natural terms was 103.9%, butter – 177%, and dairy products – 102.2%. Naturally, the plant's revenue also grew by 137%. For every thousand rubles spent on purchasing a ton of raw materials, 1.6 thousand rubles of products were obtained. The profit from sales for the enterprise over 7 months is 20 million rubles, net profit – 9.8 million rubles, and sales profitability – 19.5%. A reduction in costs per 1 ruble of manufactured product is 11% (against a target of 2.6%).
The plant has passed production certification for compliance with "Halal" requirements, which gives the green light for sales in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and regions of Russia with a compact Muslim population.
Team Success
“The success of the plant is a team success!” believes Konstantin Gailevsky, Director of OJSC “Postavy Gorodok”. “Everything relies on people. Masters of their craft are our golden fund.”
People value their jobs and are proud of the plant. This is understandable. The average salary for July was 2 thousand rubles (average for 7 months – 1.653 thousand rubles). Employees are provided with an attractive social package: financial assistance for New Year, March 8, February 23, a bonus for vacation, for the Day of Agricultural Workers, 320 rubles for purchasing vegetables. 20 basic amounts are allocated for the birth of a child, anniversaries, retirement, and, God forbid, the death of loved ones.
Konstantin Genrikhovich believes that the enterprise is fortunate to have a strong team of chief specialists, including First Deputy Director Georgy Kosten, Deputy Director for Production Tatyana Titova, Chief Technologist Svetlana Germanovich, Chief Mechanic Ivan Chaplinsky, and Head of Sales Elena Antonovich. All plans are discussed and analyzed collegially, but the final decision still rests with the director.
For example, a decision was made to purchase a curd production line from a Slovak company that had previously supplied equipment to the plant: the seller is reliable. And although the purchase had to be postponed due to sanctions and problems with obtaining a loan, the enterprise found a solution: it decided to acquire this equipment with its own funds.
An Example for the Youth
With the growing popularity of "Postavy Gorodok" brand cheeses, the enterprise acquired two slicing lines – for block and sliced cheese. The plant slices about a third of its cheese, up to 200 tons per month. Both retailers and consumers appreciated the convenient packaging. We also visited the slicing line, where we met cheese master Nina Barsuk, who was recently awarded the medal "For Labor Merits" for her skill and many years of dedication to her profession. Modest and working conscientiously, Nina Petrovna has been at the plant for 23 years. She started as a worker and rose to the position of cheese master. Her conscientiousness and creative approach to her profession have made Nina Barsuk an example for the youth.
The enterprise also cares about Belarusians. The entire range of "whole milk products" – from milk, kefir, ryazhenka, sour cream to cream – is supplied to the domestic market. Recently, the company store "Alenka", opened near the plant, moved to a new building, which customers have already appreciated.
The team of Postavy Dairy shares its success with farmers: since the beginning of the year, it has increased milk purchase prices by 116%. This has made the enterprise attractive to livestock breeders both in its district and beyond the region. This step did not affect the cost of goods in stores. Caring for customers and their wallets is an integral part of the country's food security policy. The plant has its own fleet of one hundred vehicles for delivering dairy raw materials and finished products to retail chains.
For two and a half years, Postavy Dairy Plant OJSC has been the locomotive of the agro-industrial association, which includes five more agricultural enterprises in the district. How effective are the mechanisms of the association, organized by Presidential Decree No. 70 "On the Development of the Vitebsk Region Agro-Industrial Complex" dated February 25, 2020? Who has benefited most from this team?
Everyone Benefits
– Undoubtedly, the farms have benefited, – noted the director of Postavy Dairy Plant OJSC, Konstantin Gailevsky. – Firstly, restructuring of almost 40% of their debts has been carried out (they owe the enterprise alone about 10 million rubles). The association was created to load processing with raw materials. The paradox is that our plant was 100% supplied with raw materials even before that, which we purchase both in the district, throughout the Vitebsk region, and beyond. And since the enterprise has no debts, it has not received any benefits from the association, – the interlocutor clarified.
Secondly, the plant offered the farms a centralized procurement system. The plant's procurement department began to purchase everything necessary for them (plant protection products, film for covering silage trenches, etc.). We work on a prepayment basis, without deferred payment. Purchasing through tenders has eliminated unprofitable and dishonest suppliers. Result: the farms' savings amounted to 30–40%.
Thirdly, a specially created mechanical detachment from the plant began to work in the fields of all five farms.
– At the same time, for two of them, we perform all types of agricultural work with our own equipment: plowing, sowing, harvesting, – says Konstantin Genrikhovich. – The plant purchased 26 tractors and all accompanying trailed equipment. Another 13 tractors were leased to the farms. Previously, the enterprise acquired three forage harvesters (two from OJSC Gomselmash and one JAGUAR), and this year – two New Holland grain harvesters with 11-meter headers. We leased an additional 10 harvesters for the farms, – lists the plant director's achievements and clarifies: – The mechanical detachment receives its salary at the plant. By the way, in winter, the machine operators are not idle – they prepare the equipment for the season, and we also purchase spare parts for its repair! We also handle water supply, well drilling, pump replacement, repair of milking equipment and manure removal carts.
Fourthly, the structure of Postavsky Dairy includes its own veterinary group, consisting of two subgroups: orthopedists treat livestock hooves, and the second subgroup is responsible for cattle reproduction on the farms. Medications are purchased centrally. Thus, by providing technical, economic, and organizational support to the farms included in the association, OJSC Postavsky Dairy Plant has invested 11 million rubles in them over 2.5 years.
Harvest: the forecast is optimistic!
So, for 2.5 years now, the director of OJSC Postavsky Dairy Plant, Konstantin Gailevsky, has been monitoring the harvest progress no less strictly than any of the managers of the farms included in the association, and perhaps even more so than some of them.
– The association has already fulfilled 100% of the state order for grain. In 2022, according to forecasts, the gross grain harvest should increase by 150%. Harvesting is not yet complete, but we have already surpassed last year's mark: in 2021, the gross harvest was 20 thousand tons. We plan to obtain 32-33 thousand tons of grain, – says Konstantin Genrikhovich.
The main part of the grain will go to feed livestock. The total number of herds in the five farms is about 18 thousand. If previously three out of five farms purchased additional feed, now they have enough of what they grow themselves. And the green fodder harvesting is in order: there are already 17 feed units per head. The third mowing of grasses, harvesting of corn for silage and grain are ahead.
Building new dairy farms
The management of the plant sees the future of agro-industrial production in the construction of new dairy farms. The enterprise has allocated 3.5 million rubles to OJSC "Kamaysky-AGRO" for the construction of a new dairy farm. In addition, the plant's builders have built one of the farms of this complex using their own resources. While boosting the economy of the association's farms, the plant has also decided to engage in milk production itself. The design and estimate documentation for a dairy farm with a milking parlor for 400 heads is ready.
– We plan to build the complex in 2023. In 2025, we intend to build another one, and even earlier, in the spring of 2023, a grain drying complex.
A serious step towards strengthening the agricultural sector and the country's food security as a whole!
The association in numbers:
- Number of employees – 1300 people (500 at the plant and 800 at the farms);
- 18 thousand head of cattle;
- 1 thousand rubles – average salary for 7 months (800 rubles in the farms).