MOSCOW, June 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PhosAgro CEO
Andrey Guryev took part in a panel
session on 'Identifying the Future Industrial Leaders' during which
he set forth his vision of PhosAgro's digital transformation as a
way to retain the company's leadership on the global fertiliser
market.
According to Guryev, awareness of the need to digitalise key
production and business processes came when PhosAgro developed its
Strategy to 2020. Today, all links in the chain have been either
fully or partially digitalised: mining and processing of raw
materials, fertiliser production, sales and logistics. Over the
past five years, PhosAgro has increased fertiliser production by a
factor of 1.5 to 9 million tonnes, becoming Russia's leader in labour productivity.
"There are things in our business that we can control and those
which we cannot. For example, we can't control market prices for
fertiliser, which are determined exclusively by market conditions,"
Guryev noted in his remarks. "But we can and should control
our production costs in order to remain competitive in each of the
100 countries where consumers purchase PhosAgro fertilisers. This
includes Russia, where PhosAgro is
the leading fertiliser supplier."
"PhosAgro has come a long way when it comes to digitalisation.
To understand its place and role in the Group's business,
optimisation of management processes followed, and
then transition of key functions to digital platforms."
"For me, digitalisation means efficiency. About six years ago,
we began implementing integrated reporting across the entire
PhosAgro Group, and today at our disposal we have a quality tool to
control all types of resources. Each link in the chain can be
factored in, analysed, and improved. Thanks to digitalisation we
have been able to focus on strategic asset management in order to
secure double-digit production growth rates while simultaneously
strengthening our leading cost profile."
"One of the largest projects involves introducing integrated
planning. The planned Soviet economy was doomed not least due
to the lack of computing equipment and applications that ensure
planning accuracy. Such tools are available to us today, and they
give us the ability to intelligently plan demand, production,
logistics, etc. We understand how a change in a given indicator
will affect sales in regions thousands of kilometres away, and
we can plan for this. On the contrary, for example, we know
that unplanned idle time at one of our ammonia units can
result in direct losses. Reducing scheduled repair time by 10
days through optimal organisation results in a gain of
USD 5-10 million."
"On top of this, of course, is the introduction of modern
technology. Only yesterday such technology seemed to be in the
realm of fantasy, but today it is providing PhosAgro with unique
advantages over its competitors. For example, remote control of
underground drilling represents the future of mining. An
operator located in a control centre on the surface controls
several drilling rigs underground. Tests have shown that labour
productivity has increased by 20% as a result, while the safety of
underground mining has increased severalfold. We currently have 10
such plants but are planning to increase their number."
"Another pioneering project for our country is unmanned hoppers
and excavating equipment at our quarry in the Murmansk Region,
which can operate in any weather and in almost any conditions. The
use of unmanned vehicles above all increases the safety of people,
and second, it provides significant time savings and reduces fuel
consumption due to optimal equipment loading and digital routing of
equipment movement. I am confident that
PhosAgro's experience in this area will find further
application not only in the mining sector and the chemical
industry, but in other industries as well."
"We are collecting big data, which is the future of any
enterprise, corporation, or country. Big data help us calculate
errors. For example, digital flotation control at PhosAgro
beneficiation plants allows to obtain full information in real time
about the state of the process and make adjustments to process
parameters to ensure maximum product yield and quality of mineral
concentrates."
"I am certain that if you think about the future of your company
and that if you care about competitiveness, then you are constantly
looking for advanced ways to develop. These opportunities are given
to us by the digital world, which is helping PhosAgro increase
efficiency, keep one step ahead of our competitors and maintain a
leading position in the mineral fertiliser industry."
About the Company
PhosAgro (www.phosagro.ru) is a Russian vertically integrated
company and one of the world's leading producers of phosphate-based
fertilizers and high-grade phosphate rock (P2O5>39%).
PhosAgro Group is the largest phosphate-based fertilizer
producer in Europe (by total
combined capacity for DAP/MAP/NP/NPK/NPS), the largest producer of
high-grade phosphate rock with a P2O5 content of 39%, one of the
world's leading producers of MAP/DAP, one of the leading producers
of feed phosphates (MCP) in Europe, and Russia's only producer of nepheline
concentrate.
PhosAgro's main products include phosphate rock, 39 grades of
fertilizers, feed phosphates, ammonia, and sodium tripolyphosphate,
which are used by customers in 100 countries spanning all of the
world's inhabited continents. The Company's priority markets
outside of Russia and the CIS are
Latin America, Europe and Asia.
PhosAgro's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange, and Global
Depositary Receipts (GDRs) for shares trade on the London Stock
Exchange (under the ticker PHOR). Since 1
June 2016, the Company's GDRs have been included in the MSCI
Russia and MSCI Emerging Markets indexes.
More information about PhosAgro can be found at
www.phosagro.ru.
