The Kyiv-based company has several offset presses, people, and the experience to handle large orders. Today, however, it's struggling and does not see a future for itself and its employees.
Despite the collapse of the domestic market, which was 100 percent of his orders before the war, Igor Wolf, owner of Wolf printing house, is active and fighting. The entrepreneur is determined to seek jobs, paper, and opportunities with new foreign partners.
Although the situation is calmer, Igor reports that air raid alarms are still sounding in Kyiv, and missiles can still fly. Nevertheless, life seems to be returning to normal, there are fewer checkpoints, and there is no food shortage. Like many Ukrainians, however, he can’t forget the beginning of the war.
“War is something different. Movies show a completely different war. It’s dreadful, frightening, unexpected, and unpredictable,” he recounts. “On February 24th, at 4 a.m., I woke up. Maybe providence, I don’t know. I woke up, and from the window, I saw the missiles flying.”
The Wolf printing company, which celebrates its 28th birthday in May, has two production sites and is a relatively large company for Ukraine. Its machinery includes four Agfa and Screen CtP lines, six B1 and B2 multicolor offset presses (Heidelberg Speedmaster, Man Roland, KBA Rapida, and Komori), Xerox iGen 150, Versant, and Iridesse digital presses, and a Konica Minolta bizhub Press C1100. In addition, the company has a large finishing department with Horizon binding machines, MB Bäuerle folding machines, and Polar cutters.
If there will be work, there will be everything. There will be salaries for people; there will be something to live for.
Before the war, Wolf handled hundreds of orders each day, 60 percent of which came from the company’s web-to-print and 40 percent from its managers, a team of women previously based throughout Ukraine but who have left the country and are now working remotely. Today, the stalemate is creating concern for the company’s survival and its employees.
“According to analytics, we have no more than 200 orders at the moment. However, we work every other day, ganging orders together, for one shift to be cost-effective, and we try to somehow distribute them among the production facilities to support our employees,” says Wolf.
The company is open and ready to accept and produce orders for other European countries. Thanks to its installed base and the skills of its employees, Wolf can produce catalogs, marketing materials, advertising products, and labels.
“We love and know how to print catalogs. We do it quickly, promptly, and beautifully. The same goes for commercial printing,” Wolf concludes. “If there will be work, there will be everything. There will be salaries for people, there will be something to live for.”
In addition to entrusting him with jobs, one way to help Wolf is to buy used machinery that he sells on his website. To cope with the difficulty of buying certain paper types, the company also wants to get in touch with new paper suppliers.
To meet Igor and support Wolf
