On January 12, 2001 we produced Granulated Urea for the first time. It was in our Ingeniero White (Bahía Blanca) plant. A key milestone in the history of Profertil: the day our purpose began to become a reality.
Of course, to get to that first production, we had to start much earlier It was in 1996 when the first seeds of the Profertil project started to be planted. Those five years of planning, construction and start-up laid the foundation for the moment when our granulators produced, for the first time in Argentina, the most important nitrogen fertilizer for the agricultural activity.
Since then, a challenging history and much growth began. Our first steps to connect with the community were taken in the same year as the first production, by starting the Plant visits Program, which opened Profertil doors and began to develop the pillars of transparency, honesty and integrity that characterize us today. By 2018 we had already reached 40,000 visitors to the plant.
In 2002 we obtained our first ISO 9001 certification, which guarantees the quality of our processes. Over time we have also become certified in Environment, Safety and Energy Efficiency
In 2011we began with the construction of the Puerto General San Martín Plant, in Santa Fe: we wanted to strengthen our presence in the most important area of agricultural production, to be closer to the producer It was inaugurated a year later, adding a storage capacity of 200,000 tons of fertilizer. Together with San Nicolás Terminal and our facilities in Necochea, they consolidate our logistics network.
Since the beginning, in our production process we seek to innovate and generate improvements in the use of natural resources. The main investments and agreements in the history of Profertil have been in this regard. In 2013 we started the Capacity Expansion and Energy Saving Project in our plant in Bahía Blanca: a sustainable initiative to increase production using the same amount of natural resources. Since 2014, our commitment to sustainability is embodied in our participation in the United Nations Global Compact, which gives rise to the Sustainable Development Goals (ODS), with concrete targets to be achieved by 2030. On this path, the year 2015 was key, because we managed to launch the Capacity Expansion and Energy Saving Project. In 2018, we aligned our strategy to the UN SDGs and established the priority objectives to which we contribute with our work. That same year, a few months later, we signed the most important energy agreement in the country, to generate 60% of our urea from renewable energies. Thus, half of the national wheat and maize production will be fertilized with urea produced with wind energy.
All this work to generate the least impact on the planet bore fruit: in 2019 we were recognized by the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) when they awarded us a certification that highlights the safety and sustainability with which the plants that produce fertilizers around the world work. We received a score of “Excellence” in the “Protect & Sustain Product Stewardship” program. It is the most important recognition to which you can aspire in our industry.
All this was possible to our people, who work every day to generate the nutrients that the field needs. In these 20 years we have formed a committed team, where we are concerned about mutual care, soil sustainability and the welfare of our neighbors. We have accomplished 20 years of commitment, dedication, and hard work to continue growing together!