Ukraine’s Epicentr group of companies has decided to halt production at its Epicentr Ceramic Corporation plant after a direct Russian missile strike and move output to two of the company’s facilities abroad, the company’s press service said.
"We are forced to make an extremely difficult decision – to halt production at the Epicentr Ceramic Corporation plant. To prevent a shortage of products and ensure uninterrupted supply, production will first be moved to two of the company’s facilities abroad. At the same time, we are beginning preparations to launch production at one more facility in Ukraine," the company said in a statement.
The company said direct missile hits completely destroyed two large warehouse complexes. Another missile struck the production site of the Epicentr Ceramic Corporation plant directly. The powerful blast destroyed all the production kilns, making further operation of the plant impossible. A parking lot for employees’ private cars near the logistics complex was also completely destroyed, with 20 cars burned out entirely.
The company said preliminary estimates show full restoration of the destroyed production will take at least a year and a half, and most likely around two years. The company said its priority task is to move production abroad quickly to ensure the company’s uninterrupted operation and the fulfillment of its obligations to partners and consumers.
The company said the scale of the damage cannot yet be finally assessed. It added that the strike is not only about the company’s losses. This is a deliberate strike on Ukrainian production, logistics, jobs and the country’s ability to recover, the company said.
"We offer our sincere condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones today. We share the pain of everyone affected by this brutal attack. We would also like to express words of support to Ukrainian companies that were also damaged today," the company added.
