Ussuriyskiy Balsam Distillery Celebrates 130th Anniversary

Ussuriyskiy Balsam is 130 years old. Its history began in 1894, when the Pavlinovsky Distillery, founded by the Pyankov brothers and, according to one version, named in honour of their father, Pavlin Pyankov, began operations in the Ussuriysk region. Under Soviet rule the company was transformed into the Ussuriysk Distillery. It later acquired its current name, under which it became part of the Novabev Group in 2002 as the group's first alcoholic beverage asset.

Ussuriysky Balsam is currently the largest producer of alcoholic beverages in the Far East — vodka, balsams and tinctures from Primorye. The plant has four bottling lines, each with a capacity of six thousand bottles per hour. The production volume in 2023 amounted to more than 1,450,000 decaliters. To date, the company produces 45 types of products. The oldest recipe developed here is "Ussuriysky Balsam", created in 1974.

The distillery remains faithful to tradition: as in the first years of its existence, natural ingredients are used in production, including wild herbs from the Ussuri taiga. The recipes include eleutherococcus, lemongrass, aralia, pine nuts, ginseng and others.

Ussuriyskiy Balsam has been working with reliable partners for several decades. In 2023 a contract was signed with an organisation from South Asia that supplies products from the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, in particular for the purchase of Tahitian vanilla, juniper, rodiola rosea and lewesia safrolovidnaya. All herbal raw materials and ingredients are accompanied by declarations of conformity, certificates, customs and other documents confirming the legality of their use in production.

Throughout its history, the Ussuriyskiy Balsam distillery has amassed an impressive collection of medals, prizes and certificates of honour. At various competitions and exhibitions, 33 products have received more than 100 awards.

The distillery is actively engaged in regional development. The company provides 220 jobs for the inhabitants of the city and the region and creates comfortable working and recreational conditions for its employees. Among them there are colleagues with more than 45 years of service. The team of Ussuriysky Balsam independently organises subbotniks in May in the office and at the distillery to maintain order and prepare for the summer season. Serious attention is paid to ecology. For example, useful waste — glass, polyethylene, cardboard — gets recycled. To accomplish this, the company has organised a system of collecting, accumulating and selling materials. At the same time, the distillery is investigating strategies for resource conservation.

At present, work is being carried out on automation of production processes, improvement of working and social conditions, introduction of modern methods of lean production. Much attention is paid to the improvement of the company's quality system according to GOST RISO 9001, the safety management system of manufactured products.