Phosphea is a member of France’s Roullier Group, which is one of the world’s leading agribusiness conglomerates. Phosphea acquired its position as one of the largest feed phosphate producer in the world by purchasing a monocalcium phosphate production plant in Prahovo
According to Phosphea Danube General Manager Ognjen Farkas, Serbia’s industrial platform makes it an attractive host for production exports, given that 90 per cent of the company’s production is sold abroad, on four continents and in 34 countries, through all logistics channels.
With the acquisition of the feed phosphate plant in Prahovo, Phosphea has taken over the position as one of the world’s largest feed phosphate producers. How would you assess these first two years of operations in Serbia?
The overall industry operating in the segment of feed phosphates is often highly demanding, owing to its complexity and the diversity of layers that the main industry players, like Groupe Roullier, has to face and challenge each day – from agricultural needs to the rhythm of raw material markets and economic or geopolitical movements. Each stratum requires special attention, adapted strategies, creative and innovative solutions. Establishing the company as a trailblazer in such an environment is achieved not only thanks to the recognition of the excellent results, but rather, above all, thanks to recognition of our quality and knowhow.
Serbia has given us the important advantage in terms of distance from which to approach Central and Eastern European markets in a more offensive and direct way. Therefore, Serbia established itself as our hub and epicentre for the development of our business, and generated the creation of a network of logistics & sales platforms covering the whole area of interest. Finally, although we’ve encountered many challenges during these first two years since our establishment, we achieved results that justify our investment in Serbia, and we strongly believe in further the development of our operations.
Modern, leading-edge products emerge from our production lines every day, and there will be more of them to come
It isn’t possible to be the first and the best without constantly investing in research and technology. Is your position the result of a synergy of industrial and technical expertise, a unique sales force and a constant commitment to innovation?
There is no doubt that new era is leading us to ever more sophisticated and advanced solutions, in order to face the current challenges of livestock production. For the past decade, Phosphea has been placing its unique Global Innovation Centre in Saint-Malo, France, at the centre of its corporate focus for a reason. Modern, leading-edge products emerge from our production lines every day, and there will be more of them to come. What is avantgarde today might already be a widely accepted standard by tomorrow, and this is how we see our role – pioneering feed solutions ahead of time with the synergy of our technical knowhow and sales approach with local industrial expertise.
How high are your investments in increasing the volume of production on an annual basis, and what kind of plans do you have for the period ahead; how much attention do you devote to the further educating and training of employees?
It is not only a question of production volumes, which is important by all means. The highest significance for us is not only how much we produce, but how we produce. Consequently, the issue of the environment and its protection, control of energy consumption, along with the safety of our personnel who are on the production line day in – day out, is an imperative ahead of any other. Phosphea is thereby certified under the full scope of relevant standards, which can only be obtained through such an approach and consistency in terms of quality of production and staff. The exclusive pattern to keep in line with this postulate is, therefore, constant staff upgrades.
In the long run, a large portion of our investments are channelled into ensuring a profound effect on what we consider as the key success of our project: involving all of our employees to acquire the highest possible degree of multivalency and creating a team spirit with genuine style that shapes both the present and the future of our company.