Building materials firm Kingspan will invest €200m in a new building technology campus in Ukraine after exiting the Russian market in April following the start of the war between the neighbouring countries.
The Cavan-based group said the facility will be constructed over the next five years, create in excess of 600 jobs, and manufacture advanced insulation products and district heating solutions to meet growing demand for energy efficient buildings.
It will add to Kingspan's 198 manufacturing facilities, employing 19,000 people worldwide. The group's Russian arm accounted for less than 1% of its global operations, and the company has donated $750,000 to UNICEF to assist refugees at the Ukrainian border.
Speaking in Kyiv last week, Kingspan CEO Gene Murtagh said the company had appointed a project team to identify a suitable site, likely to be in the west of the country, and liaise with the Ukrainian government.
"This investment sits at the crossroads of three crises: the climate crisis, the energy security crisis, and the crisis caused by the Russian war against Ukraine," he said.
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"The new building technology campus we are planning will make positive contributions on all three fronts, supporting Ukraine as it rebuilds its economy, meeting demand across central and eastern Europe for energy efficient buildings, and helping Europe to reduce reliance on oil and gas imports.
”The ambition is for the development process to begin immediately – subject to appropriate security conditions - with the facility expected to be fully complete within five years."
Welcoming Kingspan’s decision to invest in Ukraine, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “Our goal is not solely renewal and rebuilding of the destruction caused by Russian aggression but also the creation of a completely new, modern and innovative economy leveraging leading urban development expertise and green technologies.”
“For this reason, based on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s vision, we created the Recovery Plan for Ukraine, and Kingspan’s project meets both the spirit and the goal of our plan.
"We invite the international business community to follow this example by withdrawing completely from Russia and relocating their businesses in Ukraine. This will benefit both: a company's standing and its long-term strategy.”
Photo: Kingspan head office.
