AHT: in 15 years, the local producer of pesticides becomes a powerful Ukrainian brand

15 years ago, the brand “Agrochemical Technologies” (AHT) launched its first plant protection products on the agricultural market of Ukraine

Having started the business with a few single-component products, AHT now has a solid portfolio of 60 protective products proven by production practice, including preparations of its own development, which have no analogues in Ukraine.

Along with the portfolio, the trust of farmers in the domestic brand grew. Thanks to this trust, AHT is among the four leaders in sales of PPE to independent farms.

2008 – the beginning of the production of single-component products

The creation of the “Agrochemical Technologies” brand in 2008 was a kind of response to the current economic crisis in Ukraine, when farmers needed inexpensive and reliable plant protection products (PPPs).

The founders of AHT undertook to implement the request of the agrarians. The cheap Chinese protection products that were on the market at that time did not always meet the expectations of farmers, and the main challenge for AHT was to create precisely balanced, stable and working products.

Thus, the “Agrochemical Technologies” brand opened the direction of R&D to improve the recipes of analog protection products and, unlike importing companies, became a manufacturer with a full cycle of product creation: from its own recipe development to a strict control system of manufacturing plants.

Thanks to this approach, the company grew rapidly, the production, which began with the manufacture of basic analog products, gained momentum, and after 15 years the brand became one of the leaders among domestic manufacturers of PPE.

2023 – 60 drugs in the product portfolio

2018 in the activity of AHT is the beginning of the development of innovative drugs, because the market needed original solutions, not just high-quality copies. In 2020, AHT will bring the first unique products to the market of PPE — the fungicide Tsimoksil and the acaricide Pirizox.

By the way, these products still have no analogues in Ukraine. And just three years later, the AHT portfolio already includes 10 products with unique combinations of active substances.

All AHT products are created specifically for the needs of Ukrainian farmers, taking into account changes in the structure of crops, grain prices and logistics, the cost of agricultural production, weather conditions, etc.

Today requires diversification of production

Over time, the geography of AHT production sites also changed. Currently, contractor factories work not only in China, but also in India and Ukraine. Such diversification makes it possible to reduce risks from the concentration of production in one country in order to continue to be a reliable partner of farmers.

However, the country of production of a particular product in no way affects its quality or price for the end consumer.

“Each canister of AHT is a unified quality tested over the years. For us, production in Europe, China or India is equivalent. Thanks to the processes set up in the central office in Ukraine, production in any country in the world can work according to our recipe, technological map.” AHT emphasizes.

Expanding the geography of production is exactly the flexibility required by modern circumstances, and the ability to transfer production volumes from one country to another, if necessary, without losing quality and guaranteeing the identity of the product, is a significant competitive advantage.

Reliability and stability are the key to a long-term partnership

Reliability and stability are the main values ​​of AHT. This is what agrarian clients who have been working with it for 13-15 years are saying about the company.

In total, 35% of farms in Ukraine are consumers of products of the “Agrochemical Technologies” brand. The history of AHT relations with distributors is also built on trust and reliable partnership.

“From the very beginning, we chose the strategy of sales through the distribution system and have always followed it in order to concentrate on the production of a quality product,” AHT notes.

Over 15 years of working with many distributors, AHT has built strong relationships. Many partners have 70-80% of the brand’s products in the sales structure, cooperation with many lasts for more than 10 years.

The direction of cooperation with agricultural holdings in AHT began to develop relatively recently – in 2021, the first demo plots were laid, and in 2023, the successful results of the demo turned into large-scale cooperation, because despite military actions, agribusiness works, supporting the country’s economy.

How does AHT feel in agribusiness today?

The market for protective equipment has changed. Currently, the Ukrainian manufacturer provides solutions on a par with top multinational companies, moreover, they are adapted to Ukrainian realities and economy.

If earlier it was possible to meet the needs of a domestic manufacturer only for basic technology, today the portfolios of Ukrainian brands have solutions for demanding technologists as well as for narrow specific problems.

Because of the war, the transformation of the market accelerated significantly. For the first time in 2022, the share of multinational companies was a smaller part of the market (47%). Farmers are no longer willing to overpay for brand, popularity, marketing and their own habit.

On the other hand, for 2022, sales volumes of AHT in monetary terms increased by 31% against the background of a general decline of the market by 5%. Households began to choose even more actively in favor of proven, reliable and stable products.

According to the indicators of the first half of the 2023 season, AHT took the fourth position in terms of sales volume to independent farms — immediately after the main transnational companies.

“We continue to grow today, during the war, despite all the risks. After all, our growth is new opportunities for Ukrainian farmers. We are not standing still.

Even reliable technologies that have been tested over the years require updates over time. That is why we are creating new technological products to provide farmers with even more effective solutions,” AHT commented.

For Tomorrow: A 15th Anniversary Campaign for Growth in Agribusiness

“The future for AHT is growth together with its farmer customers. Overcoming difficulties, farmers work. They do it for the sake of tomorrow: for the sake of the children to whom the business must be handed over, for the sake of development that even war should not stop, for the sake of their own future.

AHT works side by side to help them ensure this “tomorrow”, – they say in AHT.

Agricultural producers and farmers became the heroes at the center of the AHT 2023 communication campaign. Videos, radio commercials and billboards all over Ukraine are dedicated to the Ukrainian farmer who works despite the challenges. For the sake of tomorrow.