Leoni restarts automotive wire production in Ukraine

Nuremberg, Germany – Leoni AG has partially resumed the production of automotive wires in Ukraine “under the strictest safety regulations and on a limited scale”.

The German supplier said 23 March that it has returned to producing at 40% capacity in the country after a temporary halt due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A night shift is also being added to bring this up to 70%, though workers are still operating under a night-time curfew, said CEO Aldo Kamper presenting the company’s annual results.

“Leoni is currently working closely with customers and suppliers to cushion the impact of the partial production stoppages that the war has brought at the Ukrainian plants,” he said.

The company has also set up “an agile and flexible task force” to reanalyse and manage events as they unfold.

In addition to the partial production at the Ukrainian facilities, Leoni said its other global sites have begun to “duplicate Ukrainian production capacity” to support the plants in the war zone.

Leoni operates two production facilities in Lviv and Kolomyia, Ukraine and employs 7,000 people at the locations.

Among other products, the company manufactures cables and wiring systems using thermoplastic elastomers, including thermoplastic polyether polyurethane and thermoplastic polyolefin elastomer.