With the beginning of war, times of new challenges and risks began for Caparol Ukraine and business in general. First, the main points for us were: employees' safety, keeping of jobs and salaries.
All operations were stopped on February 24. And to stay connected, coordination groups were created in each region, and a new tradition of regular "besides work" online meetings were launched for all employees. These initiatives are still in place today.
In early March, Caparol employees and their families living in eastern Ukraine were forced to leave their homes. Caparol Ukraine has provided shelter for everyone. In Caparol centers in the western regions, temporary accommodation points were organized: mattresses, linen, and washing machines were purchased. Despite the difficulties, the company paid salaries in advance and provided one-time financial assistance.
Almost 15% of employees joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and defend the country from the enemy on the front lines. Some employees perform equally important work as volunteers, and one of the employees created a powerful volunteer headquarters. And of course, we all work in the rear, supporting the company's economy and the whole country. The offices restarted working in April, at the end of the same month, we resumed our production in Dnipro.
It is clear that the market is changing and will no longer be as it was. There was a need to be as flexible as possible and adapt to the needs of the current market. This is how a unique solution appeared - Alpina Expert Restart. This is a comprehensive proposal that solves various problems caused by the war, such as cracks, shrapnel marks, partial damage to insulation, and restoration of external slopes of windows and doors.
Realizing that in present realities, not only professional builders but also volunteers, victims, and those who are simply not indifferent will be engaged in restoration, we worked out detailed instructions for each need. We shot step-by-step videos to make home repairs as simple as possible in the current conditions. Some products are unique for the DAW concern and for the Ukrainian market, and the project itself was implemented in record time, in just 3 months, although usually the implementation of innovative solutions "from idea to shelf" lasts about 2.5 years.
Power outages add complexity, of course. Even before the outages, there was a generator in the production site. Still, it is only enough to maintain the infrastructure (computers, light, heating boilers, pumps), but not for a full-fledged production. Therefore, we plan operations in such a way that the production itself takes place during the period when there is electricity. The head office in Kyiv also has a generator, light, water, and the Internet. And some employees now come to work with children so that they can study at school online. As for other cities, colleagues work when they can, and of course, we are not talking about an 8-hour working day. In the days of massive shelling, we recommend that everyone not go to work because our biggest priority is the safety of employees. But even in such conditions, we know that everyone in his/her place does the maximum and we trust our employees very much. This trust is supported by superior results, such as the launch of the Alpina Restart line.
