In January-June 2024, Kokhava Paper Mill (KBF, Lviv region), which produces sanitary paper products, increased its production by 54.5% year-on-year to UAH 869.64 million, according to statistics from UkrPapir Association.
In the first five months of this year, the mill’s production growth rate was 45.1% compared to the same period last year.
According to UkrPapir’s statistics provided to Interfax-Ukraine, the company’s production of the base paper for sanitary products increased by 30.7% to 27.2 thousand tons.
Production of toilet paper in rolls increased by 1.4% to 68 million units. KBF is confidently ranked second in terms of its output after Kyiv pulp and paper mill.
As reported, in October 2023, Kokhava Pulp and Paper Mill put into operation a paper machine for the production of cellulose base paper (previously, it produced products only on a waste paper basis). To organize such production in 2021, the CF attracted a EUR 13.8 million loan from the EBRD.
Operating since 1939, the Kokhavynsk Pulp and Paper Mill produces base paper for sanitary and hygiene products, as well as toilet paper and paper towels. Before the new machine was put into operation, the mill had two paper machines with a total capacity of 40 thousand tons of base paper per year.
In 2023, the plant increased its production by 18% compared to 2022, to UAH 1 billion 151.2 million, and its net profit increased 2.7 times to UAH 137 million.
The management of the State Service for Medicinal Products is forcing the laboratory of the Marzeyev Institute out of the market of quality control of medicinal products, the head of the laboratory, Natalia Ostanina, believes.
“They are trying to accuse us of being incompetent, of falsifying data, of not being an authorized laboratory in our market in Ukraine. We see that our laboratory is gradually being pushed out of our market. We do not receive any referrals, although for 28 years in a row we have been working both with the State Service of Ukraine, and with authorized bodies, with the Ministry of Health, SBU, police and other competent authorities,” she said at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Friday.
Ostanina noted that the laboratory has been working on the drug quality control market for more than 27 years, is accredited according to international ISO standards, including the WHO, conducts scientific activities, is equipped with modern equipment, and also has a vivarium in its structure, which allows to guarantee accurate research in accordance with international standards.
At the same time, Ostanina noted that the laboratory, which is part of the state institution of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine and employs more than 40 people, receives funding only for 15 employees, the rest are funded by host contracts. At the same time, it has not recently received orders for such research.
At the same time, according to Ostanina, a brand new laboratory appeared on the market last August and was authorized just two weeks after its appearance.
“From the moment our laboratory stopped receiving referrals for quality control from Gosleksluzhba, we started receiving feedback. Everyone who was redirected to this new laboratory came back to us with a request to assist in conducting research – the newly created laboratory had neither standards nor chemical reagents,” she said.
At the same time, Ostanina noted that since logistics in the country are broken, it is very difficult and time-consuming to purchase many standard substances today (more than 30-60 days delivery).
“We with understanding transferred standards from our archive of the institute and some chemical substances, realizing that without this in our country it is impossible to conduct quality control of medicines, and our citizens will be deprived of many drugs on our market,” the expert pointed out.
According to her, “all heads of departments that are associated with quality control of medicines, apparently, are interested in the fact that the referrals went not to our laboratory.”
Ostanina did not name the list of drugs in question. She only specified that it was Dobrobut Likilab LLC.
The head also said that an investigation was launched against the laboratory. And there is a court ruling, which states that allegedly during the investigation it was established that the laboratory of the State Institution of IOH named after Marzeyev NAMS of Ukraine abuses its official position and together with authorized persons of a number of economic entities implemented a scheme for the sale of substandard medicines in order to make a profit for themselves contrary to the interests of the state institution.
“We are attributed to falsification of studies of medicines, which the laboratory has never conducted (…) As for the medicines, which were under control at us, absolutely all documents and original journals of analytical chemists, all primary data on the analysis, copies of job descriptions for the working staff, etc. were seized. I think that law enforcement agencies will sort out and prove who is right and who is guilty,” she said.
Ostanina said that “the leadership of the State Service of Ukraine, having learned about the plans to hold a press conference, scares us that they are ready to turn us off the list of authorized laboratories.”
“Goslexluzhba believes that according to the law only they have the right to decide where to send a medicinal product for quality control, without taking into account the capabilities of authorized laboratories. I would not trust new private, newly established laboratories, which have not confirmed their competence by anything other than receiving authorization from the State Service for Medicinal Products. After all, this is the state quality control of medicines. We will address an open letter to the Presidential Administration, the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Health,” she said.
The head noted that the situation on the market of laboratory quality control services for medicines may lead to the disappearance of a number of drugs from the market.
“We have much less medicines on the market than it was a few years ago, or even two years ago. Of course, the war, complicated logistics are to blame for this, but also the bans applied by our State Administration of Medicines. If the executors could not figure out how to conduct a study, they simply write that the drug does not meet the declared quality and the State Service of Ukraine imposes a ban throughout the country,” she said.
Ostanina specified, in particular, that the drugs that are used in the season of ARVI from temperature, to improve well-being during the fall colds, were first banned. “They were not available in the fall, and only in January after arbitration control, suddenly it turned out that everything was good there, correctly, and they were released on the market,” she noted.
According to her, that subjective approach to the organization of quality control of medicines and involvement of insufficiently qualified specialists in the control can lead to the fact that the drug will actually be removed from our market.
The State Research Laboratory for Quality Control of Medicines of Marzeyev IOH of NAMNU was established in 1996, it employs four doctors of sciences, 10 candidates of sciences and 30 researchers.
It is accredited by the National Accreditation Agency of Ukraine in accordance with the requirements of GOST EN ISO/IEC 17025:2019 (EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017, IDT; ISO/IEC 17025:2017 IDT), certified by Gosleksluzhba,
The quality management system is certified by the Ukrainian Medical Certification Center for compliance with the requirements of GOST EN ISO 9001:2018.
The laboratory is the only one among scientific state institutions authorized by WHO to conduct quality control of medicines.
Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group plans to carry out a large-scale green transformation of its Ukrainian assets – GOKs, Kametstal and Zaporizhstal – worth about $9 billion within 5-10 years after the end of the war.
According to a report by dsnews.ua, this will require external financing.
It is specified that as soon as the hostilities end, the group will increase production (currently, its enterprises are 65-70% utilized), so the equipment needs to be prepared for operation in advance, which is being done now.
At the same time, the strategy remains unchanged: to create a global company with Ukrainian roots based on green and digital transformation of production facilities. This requires high-quality raw materials, semi-finished products and sufficient clean energy sources.
Meanwhile, the large-scale green modernization of enterprises in Ukraine has been put on hold due to an acute shortage of electricity of any origin. However, Metinvest can help develop Ukrainian assets by investing in cleaner production. For example, the construction of a green rolling plant in Italy with a capacity of about 3 million tons of products per year will increase the utilization of the group’s Ukrainian iron and steel plants, which can no longer sell products in Ukraine after the occupation of Mariupol’s steel mills. The Italian plant is to be built jointly with partners in three to four years with up to $2 billion of credit and partnership funds.
In addition, the GOKs that receive orders will be able to modernize their production to produce high-quality pellets. In particular, Northern GOK is currently competing in the European market thanks to its upgraded production of pellets with improved characteristics.
Metinvest’s strategy for transitioning to green steel production long before the war included the conversion of blast furnaces at its steelmaking facilities to DRI (direct reduction of iron) technology. This process requires improved pellets as raw materials. Successful tests of the production of such DRI pellets were carried out at Central GOK at the beginning of the war.
The war has put major strategic projects on hold, but the Group is responding quickly to adapt its investment program to maintain efficient production, primarily by investing in existing facilities that need to be modernized. Since the beginning of the war, Metinvest has invested over $300 million annually.
In 2023, Zaporizhstal and Kametstal overhauled blast furnaces. In addition, Zaporizhstal overhauled its rolling mill equipment and Kametstal overhauled its coke oven batteries. In total, UAH 23 billion has been invested in the modernization of these two enterprises over the past two years.
“Metinvest is also consistently launching new coking coal longwalls at Pokrovskoye Coal Group. At the beginning of the year, the 11th longwall for coking coal production in Block 10 of the Pokrovskoye Mine Administration was launched.
In addition, targeted investments are important. For example, the modernization of the roasting machine in the pellet production shop at Pivdennyi GOK in 2023 helped to establish the production of homogeneous pellets with an iron content of 65%, which allowed the GOK to maintain a competitive position in the European iron ore market.
This year, the company plans to invest $320 million in capital and about $350 million in operating investments in equipment and work sites. The priority is to repair blast furnaces and sintering machines, maintain the GOK’s equipment and develop the mine management department in Pokrovsk.
State-owned Ukreximbank (Kiev) earned UAH 4.4 billion in net profit for January-June this year, which is 2.3 times higher than the result for the same period last year, the press service of the financial institution said on Friday.
“June net profit of UAH 188 million allowed Ukreximbank to complete the first half of 2024 with a profit of UAH 4.4 billion, which is almost equal to the bank’s pre-tax profit for the whole of 2023, which amounted to UAH 4.9 billion,” the report said.
Ukrexim specifies that for the six months of 2024 operating profit increased by UAH 1.9 billion compared to the result of last year – up to UAH 3.3 billion.
According to the National Bank, Ukreximbank earned UAH 1.9 billion in net profit for the first 6 months of 2023, and in total for last year it amounted to UAH 3.3 billion. As of June 1, 2024, the bank ranked third in total assets among 63 banks (UAH 293.9 billion).
Turkey’s Dalgakiran has invested UAH 400 million in launching a plant to produce industrial power equipment in Bilogorodka in Kiev region, Dalgakıran Kompresör Ukraine LLC said in a press release.
The construction project was started before the large-scale Russian aggression, and now thanks to the investment of the Turkish side it has been completed. The investment in the production site and office will create 50 new jobs.
“The office and new production in Ukraine will contribute to the development of enterprises in all sectors, giving them the opportunity to continue economic activities, save money and resources,” said Vyacheslav Dinkov, director of Dalgakiran Compressor Ukraine.
According to him, the company’s plans include further development and localization of production, development and supply of new equipment necessary for the restoration of energy and industrial production in Ukraine.
In turn, Chairman of the Board of Dalgakiran Kompresör Adnan Dalgakiran noted that the scaling of business in Ukraine is a contribution to support the country’s economy and energy sector in difficult times. “In conditions of power outages, our equipment is able to ensure the continuity of business processes and production, enable businesses to continue to operate, pay taxes and give Ukrainians jobs,” he said.
“Dalgakiran Compressor Ukraine” is a representative office of Turkish Dalgakiran, specializing in the manufacture and service of generator and compressor equipment, cooling systems and industrial pumps.
Ukrainian representative office sells equipment and improves it to meet the needs of the national customer. The basic equipment is manufactured in Turkey, where a full cycle of quality control is introduced, as well as its own design office.
The company has been working in Ukraine for 19 years, has representative offices in 11 cities and more than seventy own mobile service teams.
Dalgakıran Kompresör, industrial power equipment, INVESTMENTS, TURKEY
A EUR100 million grant agreement has been signed by Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, Chairman of the Board of NPC Ukrenergo, and Lorenz Gessner, Head of the Representative Office of the German state development bank KfW in Ukraine, the company said.
According to its Telegram post on Friday, the signing took place in Kyiv on Thursday in the presence of Deputy Energy Minister Roman Andarak and members of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
It is noted that the European Commission has authorized KfW to provide Ukrenergo with funds from the EU’s special budget program Ukraine Investment Facility and to ensure the financing and implementation of a number of priority energy projects.
These include the modernization of high-voltage substations in the western regions of Ukraine and the development of interconnectors connecting it to the power system of continental Europe, as well as the repair and restoration of equipment destroyed or damaged by Russian shelling at high-voltage substations, and the purchase and supply of new equipment.
In addition, part of the funds should be used to strengthen the physical protection of Ukrenergo’s substations.
NPC noted that this grant is the second phase of the target program “Reconstruction and Restoration of Ukraine’s Electricity Transmission Infrastructure”, as the company signed an agreement with KfW on the first phase of the program worth EUR 15 million at the Berlin Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine-2024 in June.
In total, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukrenergo has attracted EUR324 million with the support of KfW, and the total amount of international assistance attracted amounted to EUR1.5 billion, the NPC summarized.
