By KYIV. Nov 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Pobuzhsky Ferronickel Plant LLC (PFP, Kirovohrad region), which is part of the Solway international investment group, is forced to suspend production.
According to a press release from the company on Tuesday evening, due to the missile attack and global damage to the power grid, the company is unable to resume the operation of furnaces.
At the same time, in the morning of October 22, the military forces of the Russian Federation carried out three missile strikes on an energy facility that provided power to the PFP, as well as a number of settlements in Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions, including a water intake station on the Southern Bug River.
As a result of power failure at PFP, the metallurgical process and water intake were stopped. PFP suffered significant economic damage, and production was forced to stop until the state-owned substation is properly restored and the necessary repairs to the main equipment are completed.
At the same time, the enterprise took all necessary measures to prevent situations that could have a negative impact on human health or the environment.
"Currently, power supply has been restored, but it is very unstable and barely enough for the needs of the population. Due to the impossibility of conducting the production process, the company is forced to suspend its main production activities," the company said in the press release.
The downtime start date is November 1, 2022.
Since the beginning of the military aggression against Ukraine, the PFP has been operating at a loss due to high energy costs, logistical obstacles, shortages of raw materials and was subsidized by its Swiss investor Solway Investment Group, trying to fulfill its obligations to workers and the community as much as possible.
Given the forced decline in production by more than half, in January-September 2022, the total volume of processed raw materials amounted to 0.643 million tonnes (62.8% compared to the results of January-September 2021), which corresponds to 42,299 tonnes of ferronickel (77.5% ) compared with January-September 2021), or 7,400 tonnes of nickel (63.5% compared with January-September 2021).
During the specified reporting period, the plant paid taxes to the budget of Ukraine in the amount of UAH 113.8 million (7.9% more than in January-September 2021). Of these, UAH 56.1 million is a single social security contribution (8.6% up compared to January-September 2021) and UAH 44 million are payroll taxes (9.1% up compared to January-September 2021).
According to the press release, despite the decline in production capacity with the start of full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, wages and social benefits were maintained in full. In addition, with the participation of the parent company Solway, the employees of the plant carried out a complete set of first-aid kits for the military according to the standards of NATO and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and established the process of purchasing and delivering the necessary funds and medical equipment from abroad. At present, the financial assistance of PFP and the Solway investment group in the acquisition of medical equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to about UAH 5 million.
The press service said that during the period of downtime, jobs will be saved for all staff. Personnel involved in the maintenance and operation of critical infrastructure facilities and the protection of the plant’s facilities will be paid for the actual hours worked. In accordance with Article 113 of the Labor Code of Ukraine, employees who are not involved in the protection or operation of equipment will be paid for downtime in the amount of at least two thirds of the established tariff rate or salary.
"We remain on the ground and will try to keep the team, to be useful to society and the defenders of Ukraine for the sake of Our Victory," PFP General Director Denys Shevchenko said.
During the period of forced downtime, PFP will continue to fulfill its social obligations to the society in water supply, drainage, gas and heat supply.
