They work in different departments, hold various positions, have different professions, and career paths. But there is something that unites them, namely love for their work, dedication to the company, high motivation to move forward, and the courage not to give up no matter what difficulties occur on the way to achieving the goal.
We are talking about NIBULON’s employees who were awarded NIBULON’s Pride award last year and their achievements.
Oleksandr Hryn, a tractor driver of the agricultural production at Prybuzhanivska branch, is known among his colleagues as an initiative and persistent employee, worthy of the “Best Combine Operator of the Year” award. Oleksandr joined NIBULON as a very young specialist. Year after year, he has been demonstrating the best results in harvesting. Colleagues appreciate and respect him for being someone they can always rely on.
Before joining NIBULON, Oleksandr served in the army, had experience working in a fire department, drove trucks to Europe, but eventually returned to work on the land.
“Having tried myself in various fields and professions, I realized that my vocation is land. It’s really what I love and what keeps me moving forward. The combine harvester operator doesn’t just harvest grain. I am responsible for my machine, I prepare it for work, inspect it for any repairs needed. After so many years of work, I can feel the combine and anticipate what malfunctions may occur. And we don’t need them! Among combine harvester operators, there is an unspoken competition to find out who can harvest more grain, do it faster, and more carefully. It’s such a healthy, positive spirit of competition that has always motivated me to do more and do better! The elder son asks me, “Dad, what can you do in the field?” And there is no better job for me! ! I really love my job; I like working in the field, on the land. It’s really my vocation,” shares Oleksandr.
Oleh Starozhuk, a tractor driver of agricultural production at Chyhyryn branch, was recognized as the “Best Mechanic of the Year”. Oleh was always distinguished by a very conscious attitude to work, working 100%. “The more we do, the more we earn,” he often said, earning respect among his colleagues. And at the beginning of the full-scale aggression, Oleh demonstrated remarkable courage, rescuing the agricultural machinery of NIBULON. Under the cover of fog, together with Oleksandr Mekerov, under whose leadership he worked in Snihurivka district before moving to Chyhyryn branch, he took out the company’s tractor to prevent it from falling into hands of the enemy.
“I have been working for the company for over 20 years. Everything here is familiar so I couldn’t abandon the machinery. I work with a German Fendt; it’s a very good tractor, and it would be a shame to lose such a machine due to shelling or surrender it to the enemy. I called the head of Chyhyryn branch, got permission, and left early in the morning. I did not know what the road would be, but I decided to take a risk. I was very lucky; there was a fog that literally hid us from the enemy. So, driving through the fields, through the positions of our military, I carefully drove 90 km towards Novyi Buh, where our trailer was already waiting for me. It had safely transported us to the branch. A few days later, Mykolaiv region was shelled, and our branch suffered; we left just in time!” recalls Oleh.
Artem Korotushenko, a senior regional specialist of the trade department, was awarded the “First among Equals” prize. Artem has been working at Kremenchutska branch since the day it was established. For more than 10 years of work, he has proven himself as an ambitious, result-oriented, and loyal employee. In the past year, in addition to his primary responsibilities, Artem also worked in the procurement department. That’s why his 107% fulfillment of the procurement plan in 22/23 MY and the highest procurement volume among elevators for the same period – 152 thousand tons – is really impressive!
“The period of receiving grain from suppliers is always intense. And in 2022, it was really hot. Because some of the branches were blocked, and Bessarabska branch was not built yet, many farmers were bringing grain to us. Our branch has a convenient location – at the intersection of three regions. We accepted trucks from Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and even Kyiv regions. In addition to my main job, which includes work with counterparties, on-site market monitoring, and maintaining a client database, work in the procurement department was added, namely signing supply contracts, payments, calculations of discounts, preparation of specifications, etc. At that time, the company had not yet introduced the Supplier’s Account, we worked with documents only in paper form, so the workload increased several times. I think that not only I but also all my colleagues understood how responsible our work is and how important it is to perform it quickly and qualitatively. It is this common vision and one goal that support us in difficult moments, help us not to give up in the face of difficulties,” notes Artem.
Yaroslava Zaikyna, head of the procurement department of the trade department, was honored in the “E-Progress” category. In just three months, under Yaroslava’s leadership, NIBULON implemented an electronic document management system for interacting with agricultural product suppliers – a modern approach that significantly increased the efficiency of trade operation management. Today, 98.2% of contractors have fully switched to work in the Supplier’s Account, which indicates the efficiency and convenience of the system.
“This is an important project for the company, and I am glad that we managed to implement it within such a short period because usually such projects take from 6 months to 1 year. We deliberately decided to work without a classic test period to make online adjustments that would take into account the wishes and comments of the suppliers. It was also crucial for us to make this solution free for suppliers and as convenient as possible. The fact that suppliers agreed to participate in beta testing and that almost 100% switched to the electronic account after its launch, is valuable for me and the team that worked on the implementation. It means that we managed to realize a truly valuable product. And this award is our common one,” says Yaroslava.
The first story about the team of Bessarabska branch, which was recognized in the “Team of the Year” nomination for high self-organization, motivation, and initiative during the development of the terminal, you can read here.
