Transoil Group of Companies has implemented more than $13 million worth of new investments for the 2018-2019 season which will increase overall production capacity in both North and South of Moldova and reduce costs.

The described investments above have been allocated to two projects at the Floarea Soarelui factory in the city of Balti, and a unique project at Giurgiulesti International Free Port. Vaja Jhashi, the President of the TRANS OIL group: As the largest producer of sunflower oil in Moldova and a major grain exporter, we understand our responsibilities. The quality of Moldova’s oil and cereal products depends on all participants in the production chain: agricultural producers, transport units, storage facilities,. Not only do our customers buy products from TRANS OIL companies, they importantly acquire goods produced in Moldova. Therefore, it is very important for us to invest in the most modern, ecological and advanced technologies to support the development of best practices for production and commodity handling in the country. This year, we have completed three new projects and have invested more than $13 million in total over three years to accomplish them. We continue to constantly explore new ideas for modernization of our production facilities.

Modern equipment and a new Oil Extraction Division

Floarea Soarelui is the largest oil and fats factory in Moldova. The factory has significantly increased its production capacity as a result of the installation of a new, modern oil extraction division. Construction of the division has been fully completed in May 2018. The production capacity of the new workshop supports overall processing capacity of up to 1200 tons of sunflower seeds per day or more than 300 thousand tons per year. The old workshop, built in the 1960s, could support processing of only 800 tons of sunflower seeds per day or up to 200,000 tons per year. The new equipment was supplied and installed by "EuropaCrown" Ltd Company. - One of the world’s leading equipment providers.

The general contractor Ukrainian company JSC "Production Company Techmash" has extensive experience in the implementation of such strategic facilities in Ukraine. In particular, they built the largest in Eastern Europe steel factory InterpipeStyle at Dnieper as well as factories for the company, BUNGE, in Ukraine.

Stella Ostrovetskaya is the General Director of JSC Floarea Soarelui: "Today, the increasing of production is extremely important. It is equally important to apply the most modern and advanced technologies in our factory. This can be achieved only through the introduction of processes, such as the new oil extraction division, that reduces cost and minimize production losses. Additionally, the new processes help to maintain and even improve our production quality and quantity indicators. This project will inevitably lead to an increase of the competitiveness of our end products and will allow us to maintain our leading position on the domestic market and also expand our export opportunities.

Having invested $9.5 million in the construction and equipment of the new oil extraction workshop, Floarea Soarelui not only increased its production capacity by more than a third, but also received the most modern workshop in the region, equipped with the latest technologies.

Boiler house on biofuel

Also in 2018, Floarea Soarelui factory has successfully launched a new boiler house that allows for switching to an autonomous and environmentally friendly fuel. The production of oil requires steam treatment. This boiler house produces 25 tons of steam per hour with a pressure of 3.9 Pa and a temperature of 410 degrees Celsius. The boiler house works completely on husks, which are produced as a byproduct of sunflower seed crushing.

Investments in the construction and equipment of the new boiler house amounted to $2.5 million. The project was implemented partially with participation of MOSEF and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Currently, related to this project, there is ongoing work on the installation of a new turbine which can operate on the produced steam. The turbine will cover 60% of the factories total demand for electricity. This will optimize the cost of procuring electricity from external suppliers and will lead to overall reduction of production costs.

The unique pneumatic equipment for cereals and oilseeds

TRANS OIL group of companies third project in 2018, which will be completed by the beginning of the new season, is unique not only for Moldova, but also for the entire Black Sea region. Currently, TRANS OIL enjoys capacity in the International Free Port of Giurgiulesti to store of 70,000 tons of grain. Out of 70,000 tons, 50,000 tons are located at the banks of the Prut river and 20,000 tons at the banks of the Danube. The new pneumatic grain feeding line 515 meters long with a capacity of 250 tons per hour will unite both of the terminals of the TRANS OIL group at the Giurgiulesti port. The loading of cereals and oil crops on the ships is provided by two terminals located at the Prut river and the Danube river. Loading capacities of the terminal at the Prut river allow loading of 200-300 tons of grain per hour, and the terminal at the Danube river up to 800 tons per hour.

Project financing (worth $1.2 Million) was covered by TRANS OIL group’s internal funds. The equipment was supplied by "Stal'prom" (Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine) who were responsible for the laying of the pipeline. "Technology pneumatic-Export" company (Taganrog, Russia) delivered up-to-date pneumatic technology used at the international ports. As a result of this project, the TRANS OIL group terminals in Giurgiulesti port will be able to transfer more than 1 600,000 metric tons per year. Mihail Redkin, managing director of Trans Cargo Terminal: "With the launch of the new pneumatic line, we can simultaneously load ships to both the Prut and the Danube rivers from any of our storage facilities. This makes our work more flexible, faster and increases the overall output of our port capacity.

Vaja Jhashi, the President of the TRANS OIL group: "I will not deny that we took a certain risk with the new pneumatic line. No one in the region has implemented such projects yet. Therefore, the project has received a lot of attention from both partners and competitors in the region. This success influences not only the quality and efficiency of our work, but also the reputation of Moldova in general and the TRANS OIL group in particular. I think our team coped well with the target and pressure. We also plan to increase storage capacity at the Danube’s terminal up to 30,000 metric tons in the new season and total storage capacity will be 80, 000 metric tons."

The source of information: https://www.infomarket.md