Three Months After The Outbreak Of The Russian-Ukrainian Conflict, How Is The Current Situation Of Its Domestic Packaging Printers?

Three months after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, how is the current situation of its domestic packaging printers?

Before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war on February 24, 2022, there were more than 5,000 printing and processing enterprises in Ukraine's printing and packaging industry, with a total of more than 100,000 employees. As the Russo-Ukrainian war continued, the facilities of Ukrainian printing and packaging companies suffered partial or complete damage, the business lost most of its orders and turnover, and it was difficult to issue wages.

With Ukrainian printers and converters unable to rely on domestic orders and exports to Russia, Print Against War, an independent movement led by members of the global printing and packaging industry, says they are promoting cooperation with European companies to help Ukrainian companies to Supply printing materials to European companies at reasonable cost. While there may be some logistical issues, Print Against War says many companies are ready to produce and ship.

Lorenzo Villa, co-founder of Meaningful Printing Foundation, explained: “We were able to speak to some medium and large commercial printers. They were ready to process large volumes of offset presses and binders using multi-colour B1 and B2 sizes. Printing orders. We also met with several digital native printing companies specializing in short runs, just-in-time jobs, indoor and outdoor promotions using sheetfed digital presses, large format presses and die cutters. In addition to comprehensive group companies In addition, there are several small and medium packaging converters that produce printed and decorative boxes and labels. Some have also invested in state-of-the-art digital decorative and narrow-web digital label presses.”

New Media: We don't want to move facilities to Europe because we love our country

Print Against War interviewed companies including Odessa-based New Media, a 100% digital print and label converter whose owner Viktor Artyushchenko is looking for customers and partners to supply roll labels and decorative prints. Viktor Artyushchenko said: "We started as a digital printing company in 2014, producing advertising materials such as flyers, business cards, brochures, etc. Now we have three Konica Minolta industrial-grade presses. Most of the equipment was purchased during this period because we believe that sales will increase significantly after the epidemic. However, we now have a lot of advanced technology and equipment, but our sales are very low.”

When the war began, New Media was only closed for nine days. This is because some bombs landed about 500 meters from its workshop. That's why everything is shut down and workers are asked to stay home or move closer to the border. New Media worked half a day under curfew and then called all clients. In Odessa, the mayor and the government asked everyone to start work, go to the office and go to the workshop to do something. As a result, people and employees understand that the situation is manageable, and, similar to work, talking to clients can have some psychotherapeutic effects.

According to Viktor Artyushchenko, as part of an initiative launched by the Ukrainian government, New Media received a 60% rent discount, and it offered each employee (about 35 employees in total) a fixed salary of around 200 euros . “In April, we could say that our sales were growing. If the sales in March were 10% of our usual sales in the past, in the first half of April, that number grew to 20%. So, although we can’t pay all the employees wages, but at least half of them can be paid," added Viktor Artyushchenko.

One of the challenges New Media faces is product delivery, with many couriers such as DHL and UPS having ceased operations in Ukraine. Viktor Artyushchenko pointed out that the Ukrainian airline Ukrposhta has been "overloaded". Overall, the company "wanted to be an affordable partner in terms of price. We didn't want to relocate our facilities to Europe because we love our home country and we thought our country had significant post-war growth. Prospects. That's why we want to stay here and work. We should support our staff for 3-5 months, or until the end of the year."

PrintStore Group: We are currently in wartime mode

Oleg Doroshenko, owner of the PrintStore Group, talks about his company's performance in the months following the outbreak of the war. The PrintStore Group is based in Kyiv, but Doroshenko and his family, including his one-year-old daughter, were forced to evacuate their Makarif home after 10 days of sheltering in the basement from the attack. Doroshenko has since sent his family to Ireland after joining some EU countries to welcome refugees from Ukraine.

"Our company dates back to 2007," Oleg Doroshenko said of his print experience. "We started out as an advertising agency with the ambitious name 'Intercontinental Ukraine'. We Our goal is to become the leader in the Ukrainian printing industry. 10 years later, our dream has come true, and we have successfully entered the list of the top 10 Ukrainian offset printing plants!”

"Before the war, we had a lot of printing operations with customers from Ukraine and Europe (200+ Ukrainian and foreign companies), so we welcome everyone from all over the world to print in Ukraine to support our printing industry after the war. We Currently in wartime mode and continuing to fulfill critical orders for customers, but I must admit that order numbers have dropped significantly. Our priority now is to financially support our staff during this difficult time, as well as resume our printing after the war industry," said Oleg Doroshenko.

Provide long-term support and solidarity

"Communication is more important now than ever," said Igor Agakov, publisher of Print+ magazine, who currently lives in Boryspil, a satellite city of Kyiv. His area was "relatively calm" but the area was still under fire from missiles and artillery. "Working and communicating with printers has been an integral part of my life for the past 25 years, and it's still the same today, our telephone communication with most of Ukraine is still there."

However, Agakov noted that it is "difficult to estimate" how many companies are still open and operating in Ukraine. "It is unlikely that there is a way that will allow you to accurately estimate the number of printing plants that are working. Furthermore, the owner's willingness to restart printing plants depends on many factors. Of course, the most critical is war-related activities." Agakov Highlights the shelling of Dunapack, a leading corrugated packaging manufacturer in Oreshki near Kherson, which killed one employee and injured others. Protecting employees is a priority, but as Agakov points out, for some, staying on the job is more "therapeutic" than nervously waiting for news or further attacks.

For people evacuated from Ukraine, drupa, the international trade fair for the printing industry, has provided shelter for 1,500 Ukrainian refugees in Hall 6 of the Messe Düsseldorf, Germany. “We usually bring together global players from the printing industry, and now we are sheltering those who seek violence and destruction,” explains Sabine Gelderman, drupa director.

For those who remain in Ukraine, Agakov said: "We cannot live on EU or US grants and subsidies, we know and want to work and make money. I believe that all printing houses in Ukraine will work hard to get back to business as soon as possible, But the rapid recovery of the printing industry will depend on several factors. The most critical now is the lack of personnel and consumables, the lack of professionals existed before. As the economy grows in 2021, it becomes less obvious, but It’s understandable that the situation is unmanageable. Many will have to start from scratch.”

“In terms of consumables, there is a clear crisis in the global market, leading to shortages of paper, color boxes, etc. that the printing industry needs. Combined with the outbreak of war, the situation seems very complicated. I think a lot depends on supply. The desire and willingness of traders to support the Ukrainian printing industry should not be just words, but actions. They should cancel the raw material supply quota and create better conditions for their shipments," Agakov said.

"The best thing the packaging industry can do to support its Ukrainian counterparts is to keep buying 'Made in Ukraine'," said Alexander Sobolenko, chief business development officer and co-founder of Ukrainian company Re-Leaf. An entrepreneur cares about profits, everyone is doing their best to save the country's economy and provide others with a means of earning a living. So by buying Ukrainian paper, packaging or services, other companies are contributing to the survival of the Ukrainian economy and human life huge contribution."