20 years of UPG – a story of indomitability in Ukrainian
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Volodymyr Petrenko, the founder and owner of the UPG group of companies, knows that the crisis is not only about losses, but also about new opportunities. The businessman is 44 years old, half of which he has been developing the fuel business – in March, his life turned 20 years old. Today, the company has firmly established itself as a leader in the supply of light petroleum products to Ukraine and, despite the war, is building new state-of-the-art gas stations, developing a national network that is part of the UPG group.
What did the refusal of oil products from the aggressor countries cost the company and where does fuel come to Ukraine today. What role did own logistics and the acquisition of a sea terminal in Poland play in the restart of business and the formation of price policy in the market. How UPG strengthens its defense at a crucial time for the country – in the material of Ukrainian Pravda.
A great journey begins with small steps
Volodymyr Petrenko started his career in business by founding the company “Ukrpaletsistem” in 2003, which specialized in the production of pallets and their export to Europe. Subsequently, the acquisition of the first oil depot in his native Korosten became the first step in the fuel business. Since 2007, he began to open his first gas stations and confidently move forward. But a real strong start on the oil market took place in 2011 with the lease of a large oil depot in the same Korosten.
“We began to buy resources from large traders, in particular from OKKO and WOG brands, which imported fuel from Belarus. With the acquisition of the second oil depot, we entered into direct supply contracts. At first, it was 1000-1200 tons per month. Later, we began to expand and grew to of the present scale”, – recalls Volodymyr Petrenko.
Cooperation with Belarus and supply contracts with the Mozyr Refinery seemed logistically beneficial to the company, because the plant is located only 80 km from the border, so fuel from there reached Ukraine in less than a day.
“Everyone bought fuel from Belarusians, its volumes reached almost 40% of the Ukrainian market. However, at a time when other large chains had additional contracts with Lithuanian, Polish or Hungarian producers, we were tied to one supplier. But on February 24, when we immediately stopped cooperation with the company of the aggressor country, and our business also stopped”– explains Volodymyr Petrenko.
At the most difficult moment comes the realization of strength. Although cooperation with only one supplier was a big lesson and a turning point in the history of UPG, it did not break the spirit of the company. The crisis became a powerful impetus for new opportunities. Despite the fact that the destroyed business had to be rebuilt practically from scratch – the gas station network did not stop working for a single day, providing Ukrainian drivers with fuel in the most difficult time for the country.
Start at the beginning and go to leadership
New suppliers of petroleum products were found on the European market. First there was Poland, then Romania, then Greece. Global factories, including Royal Dutch Shell, Total Energies SE, Neste Oyj, Glencore Energy and others, managed to agree on deliveries.
Today, the fuel sold by the network comes exclusively from the world’s leading refineries and meets the fifth environmental standard.
Another decisive decision was the acquisition of a powerful marine terminal in Poland for transshipment and storage of petroleum products. This allowed UPG to ensure the uninterrupted supply of fuel to Ukraine and offer the best price on the market.
UPG’s competitive advantage has always been its own logistics, which the company invested in developing even before the full-scale invasion and continues to do so today. This is what helped build a reliable foundation for the supply of high-quality European fuel to Ukraine.
UPG is the only one that continues to build new filling stations
Despite the large-scale war in the country, the company continues not only to supply Ukrainians with European-quality fuel without interruption, but also to develop the network by building new gas stations. Recently, UPG opened a state-of-the-art gas station complex in Zhytomyr Oblast – the largest in the network, dedicating it to the company’s 20th anniversary. A feature of this complex is the presence of high-speed columns for refueling with diesel fuel.
The new UPG gas stations are large-scale locations with their own store and a modern VIVO café restaurant, where the service is thought out to the smallest detail. Therefore, by turning here, you can not only fill the car tank with high-quality European fuel, but also cover many other important needs: a hearty and tasty meal, buy things you need on the road, take coffee with you, or relax in comfort, enjoying a drink.
“When the enemy destroys and destroys – we build new gas stations, in fact we rebuild business from scratch, we search and find the right solutions. Today we are the only ones in the country who build and open new gas stations. Perhaps this is our, Ukrainian, indomitability and unconditional faith to your country and team”– says Volodymyr Petrenko, the founder and owner of the UPG group of companies.
Now the main thing is to defeat the enemy as soon as possible
Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion, the UPG has been strengthening the country’s defenses and helping local communities affected by hostilities or occupation. In general, during this difficult year, the company focused on the needs of the military and the civilian population more than UAH 150,000,000.
To date, the UPG has already strengthened the country’s defense forces 75th powerful Mitsubishi L200 SUVs, 20’s of which it recently transferred to the combined assault brigade “Lyut”. And also refueled the Armed Forces with more than 650,000 liters of fuel. The company also closes other requests of the military: drones, copters and accessories; thermal imagers and night vision devices; tactical equipment; generators and batteries; charging stations and solar batteries; clothes; food products and much more.
“Now the most important thing is that we defeat the enemy as soon as possible. So that our people stop dying, so that our defenders return home alive. We continue to defend our country, fulfilling all obligations to it and helping the army.”– says Volodymyr Petrenko, the founder and owner of the UPG group of companies.
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