AI on the Assembly Line: Russia’s Fat-and-Oil Industry Gets a Digital Makeover

In Russia’s agro-industrial core, artificial intelligence is stepping in where legacy systems have tapped out. One of the most complex sectors — fat-and-oil production — is now being digitized with precision and purpose. And it’s not Silicon Valley doing the job — it’s homegrown code.

At a major processing plant in Balakovo, Saratov region, a Russian-made MES-class platform (Manufacturing Execution System) is transforming how production is run. The factory is part of Rusagro Group’s fat-and-oil division, capable of handling up to 1,800 tons of oilseed per day. Annual output? 450,000 tons of industrial fats and 41,000 tons of mayonnaise. That’s not artisanal — that’s industrial-grade food tech.

This isn’t just digitization for the sake of buzzwords. The platform tracks equipment malfunctions, raw material shortages, and whether every step of the workflow is being followed to code — literally. It generates full-scale operational reports, enabling faster decision-making, cleaner audits, and smoother exports.

What makes this noteworthy isn’t just the scale. It’s that the system was developed in Russia, replacing legacy foreign software — and proving just as effective, if not more. According to Rusagro, the implementation has led to measurable production growth and greater export efficiency. And they’re confident: what works in Balakovo could scale across the entire agro-industrial sector.

In short, Russia’s fat-and-oil producers aren’t just pressing seeds — they’re pressing ahead into the future.