TogliattiAzot

TogliattiAzot

Native name	ТольяттиАзот
Type	Private
Industry	Chemicals
Founded	1974
Headquarters	Tolyatti, Russia
Key people	Sergei Makhlai
Products	Ammonia, Carbonic acid, Ceramic Production, Refractory materials and Frit, Urea Formaldehyde Concentrate[1][2]
Revenue	USD$1.3 billion in 2014 [3]
Number of employees	6000
Website	http://www.toaz.ru/eng/

TogliattiAzot (Russian: ТольяттиАзот) is a Russian chemical company, that has been described as the world's largest ammonia producer.^[4][5] It is headquartered in Tolyatti, Russia.

The main ammonia plant in Tolyatti was constructed as a joint project of the Soviet government and Armand Hammer and started operation in 1979.^[6] The Tolyatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, the longest ammonia pipeline in the world, is operated by Transammiak. A marine ammonia terminal is under construction at Port Taman near Taman, Russia.^[7]

Following the severe financial difficulties experienced during the past 10 years by the city’s other major employer, AvtoVAZ; TogliattiAzot has been responsible for providing most of the services and social programs to Tolyatti, a city of 720,000 inhabitants.

In 2011, TogliattiAzot contributed more than 3 billion rubles (US$100 million) in taxes to the economy and according to Russian newspaper RBC Daily, was awarded the “Best Taxpayer” award.^[8]

TogliattiAzot is one of the largest taxpayers in the Samara region.

In 2015 Togliattiazot was ranked in 181st place on "Expert 400", Expert magazine's annual list of the largest Russian companies, and in 188th place on RBC magazine's "500 largest companies of Russia" list.^[9][10]

History

Construction on the first TogliattiAzot nitrogen plant commenced in 1974. The factory and plant were commissioned as part of a joint venture between Occidental Petroleum and the Soviet Government.^[11] The 1970s saw the construction of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline which stretches for 2,471 km right into the Port of Odessa.^[12]

In August 1983, the company produced the first shipment of liquid carbon nitrogen. In 1985 the first urea-formaldehyde resin production unit was commissioned. Four of the seven current ammonia plants at Tolyatti were constructed by Chemico.^[13]

During the 1980s, two urea processing plants were constructed with a combined production capacity of 480,000 tons per year.

In 2012 Togliattiazot announced the start of major modernization project. The eight-year modernization plan includes a “major renovation” of existing facilities and upgraded manufacturing.The plan also includes the upgrade of 7 existing ammonia plants, air compressors, and the replacement of the reaction tubesandheat exchangers.^[14]

Management

Vladimir Makhlai was appointed Togliattiazot’s director general in 1985. Following Togliattiazot’s privatization in 1992, the company was managed by members of Makhlai family and their appointees.

Vladimir Makhlai bought 20% of the company during perestroika and gradually increased his shareholding to a controlling stake at the end of the 1990s.^[15]

Sergei Makhlai took over the Chairman of the Board position from his father, Vladimir Makhlai in 2011 and remains in that position as in September 2015.^[16]

In the corporate structure put in place by Togliattiazot’s shareholders, the role of Togliattiazot’s CEO is assigned to its management company, Togliattiazot Corporation, which is under the same control as the company itself.

Togliattiazot Corporation’s CEO is Vyacheslav Suslov, who replaced the company’s long standing CEO Eugeny Korolev in January 2015.

Shareholders

Togliattiazot's major shareholders are the company's management, which owns more than 76%, Russian individuals, who collectively own 15%, and Uralkhim, which owns 9.73%. The company was led by Vladimir Makhlai in the role of President and board of directors member between 1985 and 2011. At Togliattiazot's March 2011 annual meeting, his son Sergei Makhlai was elected as Chairman.^[17]

In 2005 up to 10% in Togliattiazot was acquired by an affiliated entity of Renova Group. Renova then sold its share in 2008 to Uralchem. Other minority shareholders have not been publicly disclosed.^[18]

In September 2015, KirsanIlyumzhinov confirmed that he was the majority shareholder of the company, owning 51% of the shares.^[19]

Shareholder (Corporate) Conflicts

Since the late 90s TogliattiAzot has been selling its produce in the international markets primarily through Nitrochem Distribution AG, a Swiss trading company owned by Holding|Ameropa Holding AG, a Swiss trader.^[20]

Russian Tax Authority and Russian Police investigations during 2011-2015 established that Nitrochem Distribution AG and TogliattiAzot were affiliated entities and that TogliattiAzot exported ammonia through Nitrochem Distribution AG at significant undervalue.

The partnership between Nitrochem and Togliattiazot has existed since the mid 90s and has undergone numerous audits by regulatory and law enforcement agencies.^[21] The independent industry experts who conducted these audits have confirmed that – based on the details and circumstances of Togliattiazot's activities and products, most of which are exported through the Tolyatti-Odessa pipeline – the company's export prices do comply with market rates.^[22] Judicial investigations have found no affiliation has been found between Togliattiazot's management or major shareholders and Nitrochem Distribution AG: Togliattiazot has stated that all its export activities fully comply with Russian legislation, and that its partnership with a western trader is a standard practice adopted for commercial convenience.^[23]

The alleged transfer mispricing practice was strongly criticized by minority shareholders of TogliattiAzot since 2005. In 2013 Uralchem, a minority shareholder of TogliattiAzot, successfully petitioned the Russian Police to launch a criminal investigation into the matter, under paragraph 159 of the Criminal Code of Russia (Fraud).

The shareholder conflict instigated by Uralchem has been deemed a corporate raiding attack against Togliattiazot.^[24][25] It is not the first legal case against the company: according to Togliattiazot's lawyer "Such a claim has already occurred, it wound up on criminal charges, which were then dropped due to lack of corpus delicti".

TogliattiAzot Pipeline

The world's longest ammonia pipeline runs from TogliattiAzot's plant in Russia to Odessa in Ukraine. The 'Tolyatti - Odessa' pipeline, through which Togliattiazot exports ammonia, was finished in 1981.^[26]

In 2015, the company received the approvals needed for the construction and launch of a deep sea ammonia and urea transshipment complex in the Taman Seaport, Krasnodar Region.^[27] The completion date for the first terminal is scheduled for 2017, and operational commissioning for the second terminal is scheduled for 2020.^[28]

Products

Agricultural Products

• Ammonia - TogliattiAzot produces up to 3 million tons of ammonia per year. In 1993, ammonia unit AM 76 was fully automated by Honeywell, and again in late 2015.^[29] In 2001, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approved a loan for $40 million for expansion of ammonia production.^[30]
• Liquid Ammonia - TogliattiAzot's total output of liquid ammonia in 2014 was 2.9 million tons.^[31] In 2015, Houston based KBR Inc. was awarded a contract to revamp the existing seven ammonia plants in Tolyatti.^[32]
• Urea - The construction of a new Urea plant was commissioned by TogliattiAzot in 2015.^[33]

Materials Science

• Urea Formaldehyde Concentrate (UFC) - The development of Urea Formaldehyde Concentrate (UFC) was patented by TogliattiAzot in 1998.^[34] The company produces two grades of UFC: a processing granular nitrogen, and a resin base at the company’s factory at Sheksninsky. In 2006, TogliattiAzot opened a 25,000 tonne UFC facility bringing production capacity to around 40,000 tonnes.^[35]
• Carbonic Acid - Togliattizot runs a process plant for the production of liquid carbonic acid and the processing of ammonia waste.^[36]
• Basalt Fiber and Film - High-strength basalt fiber is produced and utilized by TogliattiAzot at all its plants. The basalt fiber is used as a non-flammable thermal insulator.^[37]
• Refractory Materials and Frit - TogliattiAzot, in partnership with Austrian firm Plibrico,^[38] produce refractory materials as a base for dry concrete compounds and ready shaped products.
• Ceramic Production - TogliattiAzot runs a successful brick making factory in Toylatti reported to produce in excess of 60 million bricks per year.^[39]
• Consumer Goods - TogliattiAzot owns a consumer goods manufacturing company producing home and office furniture as well as window and door frames.^[40] Items are sold in the Samara region and across Russia.^[41]

Social Responsibility

In 2014, TogliattiAzot started an initiative to support families raising disabled children in Toylatti.^[42] 100 financial grants were made available.^[43]

TogliattiAzot has sponsored the annual international environmental congress 'ELPIT' on several years including 2015.^[44]

Togliattiazot is the sponsor of the Tolyatti hockey club 'Lada'.^[45]

In 2012 the company became the sponsor of the Samara basketball club "Red Wings".^[46]

Togliattiazot is the key sponsor of FIDE since 2015.^[47]

References

External links

• Official website
• The origins of Togliattiazot conflict (English)