The use of Ukrainian-made sandwich panels rose by 15% in the first half of 2024
The use of Ukrainian-made sandwich panels rose by 15% in the first half of 2024, while sales of imported products fell by 12%, Andrii Ozeichuk, director of the engineering and construction company Rauta, told the Interfax-Ukraine agency. “In the first half of 2024, the volume of the Ukrainian sandwich panel market in absolute terms was slightly more than 1 million sq m, similar to 2023. At the same time
The use of Ukrainian-made sandwich panels rose by 15% in the first half of 2024, while sales of imported products fell by 12%, reported the director of the engineering and construction company Rauta Andrii Ozeichuk told the agency “Interfax-Ukraine».
“In the first half of 2024, the volume of the Ukrainian sandwich panel market in absolute terms was slightly more than 1 million sq m, similar to 2023. At the same time, the use of Ukrainian-made panels increased by 15%, while sales of imported products decreased by 12%,” he said.
Ozeichuk also stressed a change in the structure of sandwich panel use: the share of panels with mineral wool is declining, while demand is growing for panels with a PIR core (polyisocyanurate foam, a fire-resistant insulation material based on polyurethane), which has the highest thermal insulation properties and a lower price.
“From 2021 to 2024, the euro price of sandwich panels with PIR core fell by 18%, while panels with a mineral wool core rose in price by 37%,” he said.
At the same time, the director of Rauta noted that today the construction of new facilities is actively developing only in western Ukraine, while in other regions it is limited to isolated projects and the reconstruction of destroyed buildings.
According to him, the main problem of the construction market, in particular the sandwich panel segment, is a sharp market decline of 60–70% compared with 2021 levels. Most investors are taking a wait-and-see position and are not risking investing money in new projects.
At the same time, despite the military risks, the owners of most destroyed commercial and production facilities invested in their restoration to quickly relaunch their businesses, which allowed them to continue operating effectively.
In particular, Rauta has carried out a number of large restoration projects, including the Retroville shopping center in Kyiv, a production workshop of the Chernihiv Automobile Plant, and a Novus supermarket in Bucha (Kyiv region).
As Ozeichuk noted, the industry's acute problems are a shortage of personnel, especially among skilled construction workers, as well as blackouts.
“For some positions, we have to look for specialists for several months, and sometimes train employees ourselves. That is why salaries are rising and, accordingly, so is the cost of construction. Blackouts lasting from two to six hours a day reduce builders' output and increase construction time and cost by 20–40%,” he said.
According to his observations, among state programs the greatest impact comes from the program for the restoration and protection of critical infrastructure facilities.
“Overall, for 2024 we expect the sandwich panel market to remain at the 2023 level, with possible growth of up to 10%,” Ozeichuk summed up.
Founded in 2014, LLC “Rauta Group” (Rauta) is an engineering and construction company engaged in the design, supply and installation of sandwich panels, ventilated facades and quick-assembly buildings. It is the exclusive importer to Ukraine of commercial-purpose products of the Finnish concern Ruukki, as well as the developer of a number of innovations that reduce the cost and duration of construction.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/