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The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused unimaginable suffering and will continue to do so. The Ukrainian packaging industry has not been spared either. Valeriia Grankina, Managing Director of the Kharkiv-based packaging company Slavena, fled to Bavaria with her family. At the end of March, she wrote a very personal report for packaging journal about the status quo of the company and the Ukrainian packaging industry as a whole.
I have a pretty clear sense that my life is now divided into "before" and "after". And if I know what was before, then it's simply impossible to say what will be after. All that remains is to fight with all possible strength and to believe. To believe that the war will stop, that we will continue our usual free, happy life, that our company will continue its beautiful development.
There were two important events for my company at the end of 2021. The first of these: Our family business Slavena celebrated its 23rd anniversary. Slavena is a large printing company in Ukraine that produces cardboard packaging for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food processing factories. The second important event: We have succeeded in obtaining sufficient quantities of cardboard from Europe to fully cover our customers' requirements. And in view of the fact that printers in Ukraine have been experiencing a supply crisis for cardboard in the country since 2021, this was a real success for us.
Also in view of the fact that we have been supplying large pharmaceutical companies with packaging, instructions and package inserts without interruption for 23 years and are now have received the ISO 22000 certificate, which gave us the opportunity to work with the largest food companies in Europe, the issue of procuring materials in large quantities was not only extremely important for us, but also crucial for the development and continued existence of the entire company. In addition, one of the most important tasks we set ourselves was to enter the European market for cardboard packaging. That's why we entered 2022 full of hope and strength to reach new heights. We have had the opportunity to grow and develop.
Status quo ante
Even before the crisis began with cardboard deliveries to Ukraine, we were thinking about expanding and modernising our production facilities. We therefore took out loans, selected, purchased and installed new equipment. At the beginning of 2022, our employees carried out test work on the new equipment and the entire team prepared for the grand and ceremonial opening of a completely new production facility. Some of our customers had already received an invitation to the opening and we discussed the question of the number of people from the customer company who should attend our event.
We took a number of risks when we opened a new factory. For example, an insufficient number of customers for the capacity already available, an insufficient number or qualification of the company's employees, an insufficient amount of cardboard for the production of packaging and so on. We knew a lot about the world of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity. The acronym was gradually adopted from US military jargon into the global economic vocabulary and describes the unpredictable situation following the fall of the Soviet Union. Editor's note.), but none of us could imagine that in the modern world it would be necessary to include such a risk as the outbreak of war in our own country in the calculation. Nobody expected it. And I would like to say at this point that many companies are already thinking about building an air-raid shelter near or inside the company when restoring their buildings. Is this not proof of how our country's outlook, values, people's lives and the course of business change as a result of a terrible war?
Both factories and the office of our Slavena print shop are located in the city of Kharkiv. In a city that, despite daily shelling, explosions, death and destruction, still has the strength to breathe and believe in reconstruction.
On 24 February 2022, like all the inhabitants of the cities of Kharkiv and Kyiv, I woke up at around five in the morning to the sound of deafening tank salvos on our peacefully sleeping city. Now that I have survived three weeks of war in the cellar and can already easily distinguish the sounds of gunfire, hail of bombs, rockets and planes, the memories of that very first series of salvos and the still incomprehensible grey haze in the sky they left behind are the most terrifying. And I know for sure that this day is our yesterday together. The yesterday that changed the lives of Ukrainians forever.
Everyone thought they would be back at work tomorrow
On that day, like many other Ukrainians, I thought that this horror would only last a day or two and then our normal, peaceful life would continue. So that morning I received a message from the school telling my daughter that school would be back to normal and that we would be informed later on how events unfolded. Some of our employees came to work because they didn't want to believe the terrible noises in the sky, but we still asked her to go home and take care of herself. That same day, my father and I personally called all our customers to enquire about their condition.
The directors and managers replied that the companies„ operations would be suspended for several days and that all applications for the production of packaging should be temporarily suspended. The operative word is “temporarily": Nobody believed that we wouldn't go to work tomorrow, next week or even in a month's time. And it was only from the fourth day of the war that our mailbox began to receive more and more messages containing information about the cessation of work by our partner companies in Ukraine until the end of hostilities.
From the first days of the war in Ukraine, most companies in the country suspended their work, as attacks were expected in every city at any time. It later became clear that the aggressors had selected several points to be destroyed. These include: Kharkiv, Mariupol, Kyiv, Irpin, Isyum, Sumy, Butsha, Chernihiv. These are the cities where most of the adults and children perished, and there is practically nothing left of the cities themselves.
Working means risking your life
When I was in Kharkiv and hiding from the shelling, my family spent every day and night in a cellar. When we came out of the shelter for a short time, we would switch on the phones to find out if our friends and colleagues were still alive, which part of the city had just been hit and whether there was any information that the war had ended. And one day we received terrible news: the repair base for military equipment, which was only a few metres away from our new company, had been completely destroyed by Russian missiles. It was scary to even think about the state of our new location. It seemed as if time had stood still, but that day we were very lucky: although the outer part of the building was slightly damaged, the outer pipes were blown away, the printing, die-cutting, folder-gluing and all other machines remained intact.
The heavy destruction and the shelling can be felt today, especially in several cities. This includes my city of Kharkiv, where most of the city's infrastructure and residential areas have been destroyed. We, the entrepreneurs, have no opportunity to set up production. When we go to work today, it is a great risk to our lives and the lives of each of our employees. And here I would like to cite the story of our client, a large pharmaceutical company from Kharkiv, as an example.
On one of the days of the war, the factory was shelled, killing some of the animals. A rocket was also fired, which did not explode but remained on the factory premises and now restricts the freedom of movement of the pharmaceutical company's employees for an indefinite period. In this way, every company in Kharkiv and other cities that were attacked has its own story of why they want to work now, but cannot. Now we understand that the Russian troops are destroying everything that makes our people a great people, the culture and equally the economy - a strong economy that also made the country internationally successful.
Europe needs help
Fortunately, the situation is not the same in all regions of the country as in Kyiv, Mariupol and Kharkiv. As a result, more and more companies in the cities and regions that were least affected by attacks by the Russian army have resumed work. Many print shops in western Ukraine are therefore continuing to operate in a safe mode, although production volumes have fallen slightly due to the suspension of many customer companies. One of the companies, which was always considered our competitor, offered to ship a batch of cardboard that had arrived in Ukraine before the start of the war, but had not reached our city of Kharkiv, on its own account.
In the month of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian state against the Russian invasion and their endeavour to destroy the Ukrainian people, our country was able to show its strength and unity in the desire to live freely, independently and for the sake of our own dreams and not for the fantasies of others. I sincerely believe in a quick victory of our country over the Russian invaders. Of course, we will need a lot of strength to rebuild the infrastructure of our cities. We asked for help and support for our country during the war, and I know that we will need Europe's help to rebuild.
Ukraine, for its part, has already demonstrated its strength and standards in Europe. In the same way, our company is ready to show Europe its knowledge, skills, standards, strengths and opportunities in the printing industry. I am sure that our company will need new customers from Europe and especially from Germany, because we have worked with German customers, we know the German requirements for printing and delivery times, and that is why, as head of the Slavena company, I have the highest hopes for this country.
Ukraine used to be a wonderful country, and it will be again because its people are. A great nation. The great Ukraine. And so the reconstruction and the time afterwards will also be great!
Valeriia Grankina
CEO Slavena LLC (Ukraine, Kharkiv)
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