Barlinek is changing its manufacturing arrangements in Ukraine as the risks facing its operations become increasingly difficult to manage.<\/p>\n
The Polish flooring producer\u2019s decision comes alongside a production shutdown at Cersanit, another business owned by industrialist Micha\u0142 So\u0142owow.<\/p>\n
The group has announced a halt at its Vinnytsia factory, saying it can no longer guarantee employees\u2019 safety. The site has operated since 2007 and employs more than 800 people, making it a substantial part of Barlinek\u2019s manufacturing base.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople\u2019s safety is our highest priority, and we cannot expose them to danger,\u201d Barlinek said in a statement on its website. \u201cUnder present conditions, we are unable to ensure the safety of our workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n
The announcement brings renewed attention to a plant badly damaged by Russian drones in July 2025. Several people were injured in that attack, and one worker subsequently died, according to the latest reporting. Initial company statements issued immediately after the strike had reported injuries but no deaths.<\/p>\n
At the time, Barlinek estimated that production would remain suspended for at least six months. The latest statement does not establish whether the factory suffered another strike before the current announcement, or specify how much production had resumed following the earlier damage.<\/p>\n
For flooring customers, the outstanding questions concern deliveries and the allocation of orders across the group\u2019s manufacturing operations. Barlinek also produces in Poland and Romania, but the information released does not set out how it will compensate for the interruption in Vinnytsia.<\/p>\n
The group reports annual production potential of more than 12 million m\u00b2 of layered wooden flooring and sales to 75 countries. That figure covers the group\u2019s capacity, rather than the output lost at the Ukrainian factory. Its range also includes hybrid and vinyl flooring.<\/p>\n
Second strike forces Cersanit to stop production<\/strong><\/p>\n The parallel decision at Cersanit followed a Russian drone attack on its Zvyagel factory overnight on October 15\u201316. The bathroom-products and tile manufacturer had already suffered a strike at the same site on September 12.<\/p>\n Nobody was injured in either attack, according to the company, but buildings and essential production equipment sustained extensive damage.<\/p>\n In its October 19 statement, Cersanit said its board had decided to \u201ccompletely cease production at the Cersanit plant\u201d in Zvyagel. It added that the damage was so severe that \u201cunder current conditions we are unable to restore it.\u201d<\/p>\n The company also described operating conditions that had become unmanageable even apart from the physical destruction.<\/p>\n \u201cIntense attacks, frequent air-raid alerts and related evacuations\u2014sometimes occurring several times a day\u2014along with temporary power outages and voltage drops, make stable and safe operations impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n Cersanit has been active in Ukraine for more than two decades. It reports around 1,000 employees across its Ukrainian production, sales, marketing and customer-service operations. That total should not be treated as a confirmed number of factory jobs lost.<\/p>\n Neither announcement establishes a permanent withdrawal from Ukraine. Both companies have tied their decisions to current security conditions, but no firm timetable for restarting the affected operations has been provided.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100347,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n