The Russian invasion of Ukraine has not yet closed companies with associations in the wider world of print, though an exhibition due to take place in the capital Kyiv in a fortnight has surely become a victim of the aggression.
Cimpress has a subsidiary operation in the Ukrainian capital, Despositphotos which it acquired in October last year for $85 million with 450 staff. As well as an archive of still imagery and video content, there is a simple template editor and ambitions to be a content curator and creator. For Cimpress the appeal was its strength in online design.
Now, Cimpress CEO Robert Keane has posted on LinkedIn that “In that short amount of time, I’ve met and gotten to know many of our new colleagues, both virtually and several times in person in Kyiv.
“As I watch this invasion unfold in real time, I’m both horrified and heartbroken, and have heard directly from our team members in Kyiv how this is impacting them, their families and their country. Russia’s unprovoked atrocities against Ukraine and its democracy have no place in our world.
“Last month, Vista began taking measures to try to ensure our team members’ safety and provide our team members with emergency financial and logistical assistance. We will continue to do so as long as necessary. We stand with our Ukrainian colleagues and their loved ones during this time, and our number one priority is their safety.”
Cloudprinter and Vism both have software operations in Lviv, a city less than an hour from the border with Poland, which has so far escaped the fighting. Lviv is the hub of Ukraine’s software and IT sector and the seventh largest city in the country. As well as computing graduates the city has a printing university, making it attractive for companies looking to combine software knowledge with print skills. Its location makes it a very Europe facing city and it is a centre for book publishing and the roman version of the Ukrainian alphabet.
In recent years it has attracted companies because of its IT sector and because it has become an attractive place to live with thriving night life, craft beers and restaurants.
Cloudprinter CEO Martijn Eier says: “We are fully committed to our Ukrainian team who have build our great platform over the last years and we will not leave them alone. Management and team remain on Lviv as a strong signal that life and business goes on. Our operations are not at risk with multiple teams across the world serving our customers around the clock. We hope to see everyone soon in good health when this is all over. Take care.”
At the time of writing, the 700km distance from the Russian border has protected the city from the attacks experienced in eastern Ukraine. But the preparations to defend the city have been just as intense as elsewhere. Dan Tyler, CEO of Vism, took to LinkedIn to call for support for Ukraine and its people, appealing for donations to the help Ukraine’s army.
Cloudprinter employs 70 in the same city and last week the majority of the staff remained at their jobs. Non Ukrainian staff have been moved out while other staff returned to Lviv having taken family to safety in Poland. Eier on Tuesday added to his LinkedIn page: “Tonight we received a touching message from one of our print partners from the Netherlands to support our team in Ukraine. The print partner asked us to send their monthly invoice payment to the Ukrainian people who need it, like homeless refugees and the army.
“Our team in Ukraine is volunteering in the army, cooking food for the homeless, and many more. If you then receive such support from key print partners, it’s heart-warming.”
The web printing business has contingency measures in place thanks to opening an office across the border in Krakow last year. There are other Cloudprinter offices in India as well as the Netherlands and Denmark. Whatever happens in Lviv, the company is not at risk. Its technology resides in the cloud with AWS, beyond the scope of cyber attacks.
As well as these two companies inside Ukraine, web to print software provider Infigo has a software development subsidiary in Chișinău, capital of Moldova. Moldova is country between Russia and Romania. Like Ukraine it is not a Nato member and has declared itself neutral. However, it has declared a state of emergency and expects a spate of refugees to cross from Ukraine.
One victim of the invasion is the RemaDays show, due to take place at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv, 15-17 March. This is a show that has promotion print and products at its heart and which attracted 2,800 visitors from nine countries when last held. While almost all exhibitors were from Ukraine, the equipment shown included technology from Xerox, Ricoh and Konica Minolta with an MGI Jetpress digital embellishment machine to impress visitors.
