What kind of lubricants does the European breadbasket use?
Ukraine is a unique piece of land. This country possesses more than 30% of the world’s richest black soil. In a current difficult
economic climate, agriculture is a constantly growing sector that is augmenting its export capacity. Today, Ukraine ranks as
one of the three world’s largest grain exporters. The agricultural machinery fleet of Ukraine is large (it comprises 150,000 trucks,
45,000 combine harvesters and more than 200,000 of tractors). Sophisticated oils and lubricants must be used to maintain this
equipment. The agricultural sector of Ukraine consumes 26-28 thousand tons of oils and lubricants every year. This represents
approximately 15% of the entire market of lube products of Ukraine. Although the large portion of lubricants is used by
heavy industry of Ukraine, the agricultural sector is still the promising segment that is constantly growing.
The farming machinery fleet has been remarkably updated over the last 10 years. The landowners buy agricultural equipment
of famous foreign brands, that’s why the requirements for lube products have increased significantly. Based on the expenditure
pattern of an agricultural enterprise, approximately 2-4% of the budget is spent on oils and lubricants, nevertheless agrarians
(independent farmers) don’t skimp on lube products.
Yet, the depreciation of national currency and a sharp rise in prices for foreign lubricants forces them to find a commendable
alternative to imported products in the Ukrainian market. A local manufacturer of oils and lubricants, Agrinol has always
been closely associated with an agricultural sector. At the very beginning, the company manufactured traditional machinery
oils and calciferous grease for farming machinery and industrial plants.
Now, Agrinol is the largest manufacturer of oils and lube products in Ukraine. The company has more than 500 products
for various pieces of equipment that are sold in Ukraine, Europe, Asia, and Africa (more than 30 countries around the
world). To this day, their lubricants are widely used in farming machinery of Ukraine, CIS countries and abroad. All products
are manufactured with the help of the European OEMs with reference to the international technologies and meet the
latest quality standards. Agrinol is a member of the National Lubricating Grease Institute (NLGI), USA and the European
Lubricating Grease Institute (ELGI). Currently, Agrinol is the only manufacturer of lube products in Ukraine that has a complete
manufacturing cycle from the processing of raw materials and production of grease and lubricants to packaging of final
products using its own packing materials. The efficiency of the equipment performance and its operating
life depend on the maintenance quality and, in particular, on choosing the right grease. The equipment construction
becomes increasingly complex, and the fleet of an agricultural enterprise is typically represented by different brands. Agrinol
offers multipurpose oils with an adaptive formula that activates additives at the right time, thus helping to provide the best
protection for the engine under various loads. The company is fully confident in the quality of their products, that’s why it
conducts public tests of their oils under operational conditions. Recently, the John Deere 9500 combine harvester and the John
Deere 8400 tractor were filled with Agrinol 15w40 CI-4 oil. High-quality oil ensures operation of machines for up to 250-300
operating hours without refilling. An average oil consumption is 35l per 250 operating hours. In Ukraine, an average rate of work
of combine harvesters is 500 operating hours per season. Tests are conducted at a large agricultural enterprise involving the
press and independent laboratory studies.
The agricultural sector of Ukraine tends to amalgamate the farms; large agricultural holdings obtain more and more land.
The agricultural holdings cultivate the land with the help of ultra modern equipment, therefore the fleet of foreign
farming machinery will be growing together with the demand for high-quality lube products. Promotion of products in the
agricultural machinery market is highly important to Agrinol, that is why the company is ready to prove the compliance of
their products with technical standards and requirements of modern machinery in public.
Historically, Ukraine has been the largest producer of lubricants, providing the former USSR with oils and greases and selling
them abroad. However, the economic stagnation in the 90s and the state of
Ukraine’s economy that lagged behind Russia ultimately resulted in poor running of most of the lube enterprises and their
complete layoff shortly thereafter. The technical and scientific potential of the lubricant sector has been in a process of
disintegration. The main goal of Agrinol is to recover lost ground of the field. That is why the company promotes the market of
lube products, implements its own high production standards, develops and maintains the scientific background of the field,
introducing the world’s latest technologies.
