Despite the loss of market share and difficult operating conditions during a full-scale invasion, KYIVGUMA has increased exports, expanded its product range, and entered new markets. At the same time, the company is actively engaged in defense — developing means of protection against chemical and radiation threats, ensuring critical infrastructure, and remaining a reliable taxpayer.
KYIVGUMA is:
• 4000+ items
• Export to Europe and Asia
• 2.2 billion UAH in revenue in 2024
• 83 million UAH in income tax paid
Read more about our company in the report of the Latvian online publishing house DELFI.
KYIVGUMA is one of the largest Ukrainian enterprises producing rubber products. During the war, the company increased exports and entered new niches, but at the same time faced accusations of collaboration with Russia. Delfi correspondent Roman Starapopov visited the plant and learned how KYIVGUMA copes with the challenges.
KYIVGUMA specializes in the production of products made of rubber, silicone, PVC, plastic and natural latex. The company’s assortment includes more than 4000 items, including medical and technical products.
The company, in particular, exports to Kazakhstan. When asked about the risk of re-export from Kazakhstan to Russia, the head of the sales department of KYIVGUMA Anton Vasylchenko answers: “We have strict contracts with all Kazakh counterparties. It states: no resale to countries under sanctions. And this is not only with them, but with everyone: Germany, Estonia, anyone.”
“The contracts list all countries under sanctions, not just Russia,” Vasylchenko explains the specifics of the supply conditions.
Adapting to new realities during war
According to Vasylchenko, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a lot has changed at KYIVGUMA: the range has become wider, and internal competition has become tougher. The company’s products have also become in demand where there was practically no demand before.
“Today, many enterprises are operating successfully because the structure of needs has changed. For example, one of our customers now takes five tons of products per month. Previously, it was two tons per year,” says a representative of KYIVGUMA.
“Currently, our products are used to produce concrete structures for shelters. We make special formwork elements that are part of these technologies,” explains Vasylchenko.
Products in case of a nuclear emergency?
In addition to medicine, KYIVGUMA has expanded production in another sensitive area – personal protective equipment against chemical and radiation threats.
Vasylchenko clarifies that even before the war, the company was experimenting with suits, gloves, and shoes — in the context of excursions to the Chernobyl exclusion zone. After February 24, 2022, this trend only intensified.
Product demand
Even during the war, KYIVGUMA enterprise demonstrates growth — but behind this are not only billions in circulation, but also serious economic risks.
“In 2023, we sold products worth 1,5 billion UAH (31.9 million EUR). In 2024, it is 2,2 billion (46.8 million EUR). This is an increase of 44%,” says Vasylchenko.
He clarifies that along with the increase in turnover, tax deductions have also increased sharply: from 16 million UAH in 2023 to 83 million UAH in 2024.
“Excuse me,” he pauses, “But it’s important to understand: our business is not high-margin. The main cost is imported raw materials, which we buy for foreign currency, and sell products in hryvnia.”
“The exchange rate is jumping. It was 47 euros, it became 45, then it could become 52. We are losing money on this. It’s difficult because you can’t change the price every day.”
Products
KYIVGUMA covers dozens of areas and industries: from rubber pads for rails to nasopharyngeal airways for tactical medicine.
Products include dielectric gloves, shoes, window and transport seals, sleeper pads, pacifiers, bottles, and goods for export.
“We even cooperate with an American company with Ukrainian roots that produces flippers,” says Vasylchenko.
Loss and adaptation
The company has lost a significant part of the market within the country, especially in the occupied territories. Vasylchenko mentions such giants as Azovstal and Kryvyi Rih Steel Plant.
It was these losses that became the impetus for entering foreign markets. The company participates in international exhibitions, establishes connections, but remains a high-risk supplier.
Infrastructure and taxes
Even within Ukraine, there are enough challenges — especially in the railway infrastructure. “The trains are heavy. The track is wearing out. We need more pads and seals,” he says.
War throws up work. “It sounds terrible, but it’s true. We’d be better off making pacifiers. Now the demand for baby products has almost disappeared – the birth rate is falling.”
And yet the company remains a strong player. “We are second in the region in payroll tax and continue to pay income tax,” Vasylchenko concludes.
