30 Years of Tecnomyl: Leadership in Innovation, Commitment and Awareness

With a clear high-technology industrial profile, Tecnomyl aims to meet the needs of growers in terms of plant health and nutrition. With a presence in Bolivia and Brazil, it was the first Paraguayan agrochemical company to produce its own active ingredients.  

The city of Villeta is located in the Central Department some 30 kilometers from Asunción, the capital of Paraguay. With almost 1,000-square kilometers and just over 40,000 inhabitants, the city is positioned as the country’s main port and industrial center. 

Tecnomyl, founded in 1991, is celebrating its first 30 years of corporate life. It was the first Paraguayan agricultural pesticide company to develop a robust and innovative product portfolio and is also the pioneer and leader in recycling empty packaging and producing pellets used for manufacturing accessories for electrical installations, through a system that aims to protect the environment and simplify the work of producers. A leader in its segment, the company stands out due to its strong social commitment, its focus on productive and environmental sustainability, and its permanent and innovative vocation.

Tecnomyl belongs to the Sarabia Group, which is the leader in Paraguay in the segments of technical assistance, grain storage and trade, sale of agricultural supplies, and production of agricultural pesticides. Through its two companies, Tecnomyl and Agrofértil, the business group also offers social assistance to vulnerable sectors, technical support to small agricultural producers, and environmental conservation services in the communities it operates in.

President Jose Marcos Sarabia with collaborators, before the pandemic.

Differentiated quality standards 

Created to help produce more and better food, Tecnomyl develops and markets products with international certifications and the highest quality standards. From the start, it has aimed to satisfy the needs of the agrochemical market using top quality raw materials from China and India.

Tecnomyl has positioned itself as a safe and reliable producer and distributor of various lines of products used for food production. Due to its corporate policy of permanent innovation, it was awarded and is recognized internationally with ISO 9001 quality certifications. The ISO 14001 quality seal is also a guarantee of the company's corporate efforts and its commitment to environmental protection. 

The company is a pioneer in Paraguay in the development of a regional system for collecting and recycling empty agrochemical and fertilizer containers and managing their reutilization, as well as due to its waste treatment systems for both liquid effluents and solid products, leading to final results with optimal levels of care and efficiency.  

Innovation, the key word

One of the main corporate policies of the Grupo Sarabia is innovation. Under this framework, Tecnomyl is promoting the presentation of the innovative projects of collaborators from various areas of the company. In 2020, the third edition of the Tecnomyl Sustainability Contest was held and the top three projects, which will be implemented by the company in the future, were awarded in cash, supported by the Sarabia’s Group Innovation Department. 

“The contest highlighted the fact that innovative projects are not something theoretical for us. We really want to implement projects that come from the ideas of our employees. We have close to 400 collaborators at Tecnomyl, and we look forward to more innovative projects that will help us keep growing,” said José Marcos Sarabia (CEO of the Business Group).  

Towards a greener environment

For Tecnomyl, sustainability is not just a buzzword, but a guiding economic, social and environmental principle. One of its latest projects aims to reduce the use of plastic in its facilities, through the design and supply of retractable silicone cups provided to the employees of the companies of the Grupo Sarabia. The product is made from 100% FDA-certified silicone. This initiative aims to save more than 2 million plastic cups per year, preventing several tons of plastic from going into the waste management ecosystem. "Actions like this concretely highlight the company's vision of sustainability," Sarabia added.

Towards a greener life

“Our 'Live Greener' program, or ‘Viví más Verde’ in Spanish, includes an ecologically accurate work system to minimize environmental impact, combining compliance with the ISO standards to which we adhere to. The project aims to raise the awareness of collaborators, customers and society, in general, to create a more sustainable future,” stated Walmor Roim, Tecnomyl's Marketing Manager.

“Environmental preservation involves concrete tasks, mainly through encouraging the sorting of garbage for recycling and the reuse of what is usable, as well as through utilizing organic waste. These are done at both household and office levels, as well as in the industry. All the changes promoted and carried out by the industry aim to do this. Within our innovation policy, 'Live Greener' is a platform entirely oriented to sustainability,” Roim said.

As a national leader in the formulation of agrochemicals, Tecnomyl permanently conducts activities such as separating solid waste according to characteristics, the physical-chemical treatment of effluents, maximizing the use of natural light in facilities, optimizing water and energy consumption, and the use of state-of-the-art technologies to control both odors and gas emissions. It also works to reduce the carbon footprint within a “Social-Environmental and Safety Plan,” which involves reusing, recycling and reducing the use of relevant materials as much as possible, including its own “Spill Prevention Plan.”

Global initiative, local commitment

Tecnomyl supports the efforts of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health, through implementing a nationwide awareness campaign for producers, technicians and the general public on the importance of good environmental and production practices. 

As part of the Sarabia’s Group project, entitled, "Adding Together” (Juntos Sumamos, in Spanish), which aims to mitigate the effects of the global pandemic, Tecnomyl strengthened the capacity of the Paraguayan public healthcare system by donating medical supplies and sanitary protection equipment for healthcare units and public services, in general. The company also collaborated in the construction and furnishing of analysis laboratories and emergency centers for respiratory diseases. 

In terms of the social mitigation of the economic impact of the pandemic, Tecnomyl donated food on several occasions to vulnerable communities in the regions where it operates. The campaign included investments totaling US$400,000 to support the public healthcare structure and emergency support systems of communities in need.  

Recognized commitment

"Together with my brothers, Paulo and Antonio Sarabia, we have worked to provide solutions to the needs of the community since the beginning of our business group. In 2020, we started working on a project, which we named, ‘Adding Together.’ Its main goal is to support the country in addressing the pandemic, and we focused our project to purchasing locally-produced health supplies and food, with which we could provide assistance,” said José Marcos Sarabia.  

Due to the aforementioned actions, the Paraguayan Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare, through the 10th Sanitary Region, recognized the Sarabia’s Group and its companies as a "key player" in the fight against the spread of the pandemic.

As part of the Sarabia’s Group, Tecnomyl leads the way for other companies, showing that producing with a sustainable approach and conducting actions that benefit everyone is possible and feasible, as it has always done since it was founded as a leading agrochemical formulating entity in an ever-growing country, because Tecnomyl is committed to the future and the people.

About the Sarabia’s Group

The Sarabia’s Group is the agribusiness leader in Paraguay in the production and commercialization of agricultural defensives and fertilizers, as well as in grain storage, through its companies, Tecnomyl and Agrofértil. Its directors, José Marcos Sarabia, Paulo Sarabia and Antonio Sarabia, actively participate in Corporate Social Responsibility work and promote activities that support the most vulnerable sectors and care for the environment.