GLASS packaging manufacturer Vetropack is ‘cautiously’ ramping up operations again at its Gostomel plant in Ukraine following a halt to production more than a year ago.
The company has started heating up one of two remaining furnaces. The production facility had been severely damaged during a Russian military attack in February 2022.
Now, with the resumption of production, the site is prepared for potential new ‘crisis scenarios’.
A foundation set up by the Vetropack Group is disbursing funds to Ukrainian colleagues particularly affected by the war.
Vetropack’s PrJSC Gostomel site near Kyiv is likely to produce its first new glass in June.
“For now, we are very happy to be able to resume production,” said Pavel Prinko, general manager of Ukraine and Republic of Moldova business unit.
Vetropack is initially resuming the production of white glass for food and drinks, as this is where the company sees the greatest demand. “The domestic market has slowly been recovering, and many companies are restarting production,” Prinko added. “We expect demand for glass packaging for food and drinks to increase in 2023 by about 7% vs 2022, which is in line with our production capacity.”
The site has been prepared for all possible emergency scenarios. Vetropack revealed it has developed various engineering scenarios to ensure energy supply in the event of blackouts. The company remodelled the electrical distribution system and installed additional generators. Corresponding contingency plans have also been put in place for possible gas supply disruptions.
Until the outbreak of the war, Vetropack produced a variety of glass packaging with three furnaces and eight production lines at the site. On 24 February 2022, however, the company had to begin shutting down production for safety reasons.
A short time later, the plant sustained severe damage, with one of the three furnaces destroyed beyond repair. Due to this damage, the company was forced to cut around two thirds of the approximately 600 jobs at the site. Vetropack has now hired 139 employees – primarily former staff of the site – to resume production.
