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Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill has been listed as an enterprise that is critical for the functioning of Ukraine’s economy.

Ukrainian resilience and European responsibility: during the military and economic difficulties, Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill not only holds employment positions and provides decent salaries for thousands of employees, but also continues to invest millions of euros in modernisation of production and fill the state treasury. That is why the company is classified as a critical enterprise for the functioning of the economy in a difficult period.

Over the two years of the large-scale war, Ukraine has lost about 30% of its operating businesses, according to the Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in the interview with NHK World. The ongoing operation of large industrial enterprises with foreign investments is a lifeline for the national economy, helping to keep the country’s vital functions in uncertain times.  One of the few domestic companies that has not stopped its core business processes for a single day is Kyiv CPM, an affiliate of the Austrian Pulp Mill Holding. Despite the challenging security situation in the capital region and fundamental changes in the beneficiaries: Dr Heinz Zinner became the sole owner of the holding a year and a half ago.

“The company’s strategy includes anti-crisis solutions in response to the threats posed by the war in Ukraine. Since last autumn, despite the external challenges, we have managed to stabilise the work of Kyiv CPM by restoring economic and logistics chains and increasing production efficiency. Both the government and we understand the importance of the company’s non-stop operation,” emphasised Mr Zinner.

Thanks to the work of the renewed management team and support from the parent holding, the mill:

• attracts investments in the upgrade of production equipment (as of the end of 2023, the Austrian owner has already invested more than EUR 360 million in the company, and the modernisation programme for 2024 provides for the allocation of another EUR 12.5 million);

• keeps up the pace in production and sales (the volume of commodity production increased by 1.8% to over UAH 7.5 billion over the year);

• consistently pays taxes to the budgets of various levels (about one billion UAH in 2022, and almost 1.5 billion in 2023);

• has no arrears of the unified social tax;

• provides employees (2.5 thousand people at the main production site and 3.5 thousand including subsidiaries) with salaries not lower than the regional average – jobs and monthly salaries are also saved for mobilised employees at the employer’s own initiative.

Therefore, in 2024, the mill was as usual included in the Register of Large Taxpayers. In addition, the mill clearly meets the criteria set by the Government for enterprises that are recognised as “critical” for the functioning of the economy and ensuring the livelihoods of the population during a difficult period.  It is not only highly significant, but also very responsible to receive this status for the second year consecutively, emphasises Kyiv CPM. After all, in order to keep the level of income and social spending at a consistently high level, it is necessary to constantly invest in upgrading production capacity and increasing the competitiveness of products, relying solely on own resources.

Thus, despite the positive cases of cooperation with international financial institutions in previous periods, due to the country’s high security risks, the only source of funding for the 2024 budget of Kyiv CPM and key technical development programmes is currently the company’s and the Austrian investor`s funds. At the same time, the mill continues negotiation with European institutions and hopes to receive support from foreign partners and the Ukrainian state in the future.

Based on the materials of Comments.ua

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