Vetropack Holding Ltd., one of Europe’s leading glass packaging manufacturers, is prepared for potential crisis scenarios that could impact its production site at Chișinău (capital of the Republic of Moldova) in view of the dramatic escalation of the Ukraine conflict. A temporary suspension of production is also under consideration if military action takes place in the vicinity of the site.
The Republic of Moldova borders Ukraine to the north, east and south, with Romania (an EU member state) to the west. Russian armed forces have been stationed in the region of Transnistria, which lies entirely within Moldovan borders, since the Transnistria conflict 30 years ago.
“We are keeping a very close watch on current developments in the region and for several weeks already, we have been preparing ourselves for various scenarios,” Johann Reiter, CEO of Vetropack Holding Ltd., explained. “Even though we see no need to take action at the present moment, we can respond to ongoing developments at any time if they adversely impact the structured and safe operation of our glassworks. In the worst-case scenario, this might also mean that we would need to suspend our production temporarily.”
Vetropack’s priority in this situation is to protect its workforce, “The safety of our employees is always the utmost priority for us,” Johann emphasised. “We will not expose them to any direct or indirect danger in our operations.”
An appropriate contingency plan has therefore been developed in close collaboration with the plant management in Chișinău; the plan can be put into effect in case of an actual emergency, and it includes providing information to employees, customers and business partners.
Pavel Prinko, General Manager of the Business Unit Ukraine/Republic of Moldova, said, “We are in close contact with all our stakeholder groups here on the ground.”
In Chișinău, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, Vetropack Chișinău has about 500 employees who produce glass packaging for the food and beverage industry. Two furnaces with a total of six production lines have been commissioned at the Chișinău site to date. Production capacity in 2021 was about 112,000 tonnes of glass.