Equipment maker Buhler distances self from Ukraine invasion
| 2 min read
By Staff
Buhler Industries board member Konstantin Babkin, shown here at left with the company's then-president Dmitry Lyubimov during a visit to the company's facility in Winnipeg in 2007, is seen as particularly vulnerable to sanction from Canada. (File photo by Dave Bedard)
A Winnipeg farm equipment manufacturer is distancing itself from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Buhler Industries, which manufactures the Versatile tractor line and Farm King equipment, is majority-owned by the Russian firm Combine Factory Rostselmash. That firm purchased an 80 per cent stake in Buhler in 2007 and boosted that to 97 per cent ownership in a share acquisition deal announced just before Christmas.
Buhler Industries said in a statement Thursday it “strongly opposed” the invasion and “does not condone this attack.”
The company went on to state “Buhler is not a Russian company. Our values are rooted in North America, where the company has been in operation since 1932.”
Buhler said it “operates with autonomy” and its “decisions are made in Canada.”
According to Buhler’s 2021 fourth-quarter report, however, several senior company leaders are Russian nationals and former Rostselmash managers. Those include president Marat Nogerov, vice-president Maxim Loktionov, CEO Yury Ryazanov, chairman Dmitry Udras and board directors Oleg Gorbunov and Konstantin Babkin.
Babkin is particularly vulnerable to Canadian sanction as a co-founder of Russia’s Action Party, which is said to be allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime. Udras and Ryazanov are also said to be members of the party.
In 2014, the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress called on the federal government to sanction Babkin for publicly supporting a Russian invasion of Crimea.
Buhler said Thursday it “will continue operations as usual, maintain production targets and continue to build tractors and implements to support farmers in North America.”
The Winnipeg firm said it “appreciate(s) the longstanding relationships we have with our dealer network, suppliers and partners and look(s) for grace during this disturbing time.”
The Canadian government on Thursday announced a new round of sanctions against 62 individuals and entities, including senior Russian ministers, and also said it would cancel export permits to that country. Canada exported about $666 million in goods to Russia in 2019. — Manitoba Co-operator staff, with files from Reuters
