top of page

Case Study: KingHistorian Transforming Data Management in Mineral Fertilizer Production: A Case Study from Russia

  • WellinTech
  • 5 hours ago
  • 3 min read

This case study explores how KingHistorian and KingIOServer were successfully implemented at the Volkhov Branch of Apatit, part of the PHOSAGRO Group in Russia, to establish a unified data collection and storage system between DCS and factory systems.


Industrial chemical plants generate vast amounts of operational data every second. Effectively collecting, storing, and utilizing this data is essential for improving production efficiency, ensuring operational stability, and enabling advanced analytics.


About the Customer: PHOSAGRO and Apatit JSC

PHOSAGRO is one of Europe's largest producers of phosphate-based fertilizers and a major Russian chemical holding company specializing in fertilizers, phosphates, and feed phosphates.

The company is headquartered in Moscow and operates several subsidiaries, including Apatit JSC. Apatit JSC is a mining and chemical processing enterprise responsible for extracting mineral raw materials used in chemical and fertilizer production.


The Volkhov Branch of Apatit, also known as the Volkhov Chemical Cluster, is particularly significant.

  • The producer of sodium tripolyphosphate in Russia

  • One of the leading mineral fertilizer producers in the country

  • Originally established in 2003 (formerly known as Metachem).


Key Products

  • Sodium tripolyphosphate (powder and granules)

  • Sulphuric acid

  • Liquid aluminium sulphate


The Challenge: Managing Industrial Data Efficiently

Modern fertilizer production facilities rely on multiple automation and information systems. These systems generate real-time and historical data critical for operations, monitoring, and decision-making.

At the Volkhov Branch of Apatit, the plant required a reliable solution to:

  • Collect real-time operational data from the SCIYON DCS

  • Store large volumes of historical production data

  • Share this data with MES and other factory systems

  • Provide standardized interfaces for industrial data exchange

Without an efficient middleware solution, integrating and managing these data streams becomes complex and inefficient.


The Solution: KingHistorian + KingIOServer

To address these challenges, KingHistorian and KingIOServer were deployed as a unified middleware solution between the plant’s automation systems and enterprise applications.


The solution performs three critical functions:

  1. Data Collection

  2. Data Storage

  3. Data Distribution

KingIOServer collects real-time data from industrial systems, while KingHistorian stores and manages historical time-series data.


System Architecture

The system architecture integrates multiple technologies and protocols to ensure seamless data exchange.



Data Sources

The platform collects data from the SCIYON DCS and other third-party systems using industrial protocols such as:

  • OPC DA

  • OPC UA

  • MQTT

  • Multiple communication drivers


Data Storage

KingHistorian serves as the central industrial time-series database, storing operational data efficiently and enabling long-term historical analysis.

Supported databases include:

  • SQL Server

  • MySQL

  • Oracle

  • Redis

Data Access

Factory systems can access data through:

Real-time interfaces

  • OPC DA

  • REST APIs

  • MQTT

Historical data interfaces

  • ODBC

  • HDA

  • JDBC

  • SDK

This architecture ensures flexible integration with existing and future systems.


Implementation Highlights

The solution was successfully implemented at the Volkhov Branch of Apatit factory, connecting the SCIYON DCS with MES and other plant systems.

Key implementation details include:

  • Platform: Windows 10 (Russian edition)

  • Tags: Approximately 500 data points

  • Role: Middleware for data collection, storage, and forwarding

  • Integration: SCIYON DCS ↔ MES and factory information systems


KingHistorian and KingIOServer act as a centralized data hub, enabling efficient industrial data management across the plant.


Business Value and Project Impact


Key Benefits

Centralized Data Management: All operational data is collected and stored in a unified platform.

Improved Data Accessibility: Factory systems can easily retrieve both real-time and historical data.

Scalable Architecture: The system can be expanded to support additional tags, systems, or applications.

Enhanced Operational Insight: Historical data enables analysis, optimization, and better decision-making.


Conclusion

The implementation of KingHistorian and KingIOServer at the Volkhov Branch of Apatit demonstrates how modern industrial data platforms can enhance operational efficiency and system integration in chemical manufacturing. By bridging the gap between automation systems and enterprise applications, the solution enables reliable data collection, storage, and distribution—forming the foundation for smarter industrial operations.

Comments

bottom of page