Lubensky milk factory

The enterprise was created in accordance with the second five-year plan for the development of the national economy of the USSR and was put into operation on September 28, 1937 ^[2] . After the start of World War II, the plant was damaged during the hostilities and during the German occupation of the city (September 13, 1941 - April 18, 1943) , but in 1944 it resumed work - first under the name Lubensky Butter Plant ^{[3] [4]} , and later on , in connection with the expansion of the range of dairy products - under the name Lubensky Dairy Plant ^[5] .

After the independence of Ukraine, the plant was privatized and transformed into an open joint stock company .

The plant finished the year 2002 with a net profit of 5 million hryvnias ^[6] .

As of 2004, the plant was one of the ten largest dairy producers in Ukraine, production capacities allowed to process 130 tons of milk per day, the assortment was 64 types of dairy products ( butter , sour cream , kefir , bifilactones, bifilayts, milk , whey , yogurts , curd and cheese desserts, ice cream ) ^[6] .

In June 2004, the plant received a certificate of conformity of the quality management system at the enterprise with the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard of 2000 model ^[6] .

The economic crisis that began in 2008 complicated the situation of the plant, but by 2010 the situation had improved. During 2010, the plant processed over 50 thousand tons of milk, produced 13 thousand tons of sour-milk products, 4 thousand tons of sour cream, over 2 thousand tons of ice cream, 2 thousand tons of sour-milk cheeses and cheese products, 500 tons of butter, and a significant amount of other food products ^[7] and ended 2010 with a net profit of UAH 7.4 million (increasing net profit by 44% compared to 2009) ^[8] .

As of the beginning of 2011, OJSC “Lubensky Dairy Plant” produced more than 250 types of products - dairy products (kefir, butter, yogurt, fermented baked milk , milk, desserts, cottage cheese , etc.), ice cream, 30 types of semi-finished products, as well as finished confectionery . The capacity of the enterprise was about 100 tons of whole milk products per day ^[8] .

In December 2011, the plant changed its owner (a controlling stake in the amount of 83.5998% of the shares was transferred from Favorite Sports Club LLC to Milko & Co LLC ^[9] ) and was subsequently transformed into a limited liability company .

In connection with the devaluation of the purchasing power of the hryvnia during 2014 and the reduction in the number of cows by the beginning of 2015, the situation of the dairy industry in Ukraine was complicated ^{[10] [11]} , in the face of a decrease in the population’s demand for dairy products in the domestic dairy market of the Poltava region, competition between the Lubensky Dairy and products of manufacturers from other regions of the country ^[12] .

Lubensky Dairy Plant is the largest food industry enterprise in the city of Lubny ^[13] , which produces dairy products under the brand name "Harmony" ^[6] .