The EFI Group investment group plans to launch the second phase of plant-based cellulose packaging production in the first quarter of 2028 as part of the Pulp Master project, doubling production capacity to 100 million units per year, according to EFI Group founder Igor Liski.
“Currently, as part of the first phase of the project, production capacity of 50 million units per year has already been launched. Following the implementation of the second phase of production, scheduled for the first quarter of 2028, we plan to increase packaging production to 100 million units per year,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Liski, the project is being financed through the founders’ own investments and a credit line.
“This model allows us to implement the project in phases, ensuring its stable development and controlled scaling,” Lisk explained.
He noted that Pulp Master has been developed as an export-oriented project from the very beginning: more than 90% of the products manufactured are planned to be supplied to foreign markets.
“Based on the results of a comprehensive market assessment, the company forecasts that even under a scenario of active consumption growth, the capacity of the Ukrainian market in this segment will amount to approximately 10 million units per year. With this in mind, Pulp Master has been developed as an export-oriented project from the very beginning,” said the founder of EFI Group.
According to Liski, raw materials for packaging production are currently sourced from European and Asian countries.
“Sugarcane fiber of Asian origin is primarily used to manufacture disposable tableware, as it best meets the requirements of this product category. The composition of the raw materials will gradually be optimized and adjusted as the project progresses,” he noted, adding that the overall goal of the project is to establish a system in Ukraine for producing pulp from byproducts of crop and fruit cultivation.
As previously reported, the first phase of the Pulp Master project, with a total cost of EUR5 million, recently began operations in Zhytomyr. The project is the group’s fourth in the field of eco-friendly packaging, but the first three production facilities operate on waste paper.
EFI Group was founded in 2007. It focuses on implementing business projects in Ukraine. Its investment areas include healthcare and medtech, the paper, food, and woodworking industries, and the supply of agricultural products.
Its portfolio includes Feednova, a manufacturer of animal fats and feed additives; the “Beehive” honey production plant; the “Medical Star” honey retail chain; the Zhytomyr Cardboard Plant; “Sem Ecopack,” the timber processor “Forest Technology,” the agricultural products supplier “Efi Agro,” the online medical hub Doc.ua, and others.
The full text of the interview with Liski will be published on the website of the “Interfax-Ukraine” agency.
The EFI Group investment group has invested EUR5 million in a new packaging plant in Zhytomyr, which has become the fourth packaging manufacturer in the group’s portfolio, according to EFI Group CEO Olga Batova.
“A month ago, we launched a small plant in Zhytomyr with a EUR5 million investment. This is our fourth packaging plant; it uses virgin pulp, while the other three use recycled paper,“ Batova wrote in the comments section of her post about the NovaSklo project presented at URC 2026, responding to a question from Denis Myrhorodskyi, co-owner of ”Zavod Preform,” regarding new projects.
The EFI Group’s press office has not yet provided details about the new facility in Zhytomyr.
Currently, according to information on the group’s website, the company’s portfolio of packaging manufacturers includes the Zhytomyr Cardboard and Paper Mill, which specializes in the production of corrugated egg trays, as well as corrugated cardboard and its components (containerboard and fluting paper).
The group also includes Sem Ecopack LLC, which was relocated in 2023 from the town of Tomakivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to Sambir in Lviv Oblast, where a main production line was established for packaging made of pulped cardboard for food products—specifically for fruits (apples, melons, kiwis, etc.), berries, and bottle packaging.
In April of this year, EFI Group founder Ihor Liski wrote on Facebook about the Pulp Master project—the creation of disposable paper tableware and paper packaging made from cellulose fiber.
“Today, Ukraine does not have its own primary cellulose fiber—the market depends on imports. We have decided to change that. Our goal is to create a system for producing cellulose from byproducts of crop and fruit cultivation,” he wrote at the time.
He did not provide any further details.
EFI Group was founded in 2007. It focuses on implementing business projects in Ukraine. Its investment areas include healthcare and medtech, the paper, food, and woodworking industries, and the supply of agricultural products.
Its portfolio includes Feednova, a manufacturer of animal fats and feed additives; the “Bihive” honey production plant; the “Medical Star” honey retail chain; the Zhytomyr Cardboard Plant; “Sem Ecopack,” the timber processor “Forest Technology,” the agricultural products supplier “Efi Agro,” the online medical hub Doc.ua, and others.
