Lithum Group, which bought Danish coating company Hempel's plant in Ulyanovsk in 2023, has restarted production of paints and other coatings, the regional government's press service said.

Ulyanovsk Region Governor Alexei Russkikh visited the plant in the Zavolzhye industrial park and discussed its development with company executives.

"It is important for the region that, after the departure of foreign companies under the pressure of sanctions, enterprises did not remain abandoned, they are all being relaunched with the participation of Russian owners. This plant now has new shareholders, an industrial group from Yekaterinburg that has several plants in its holding. The plant has been relaunched, they found new suppliers of raw materials and components - companies from China and Turkey," Russkikh was quoted as saying by the press service.

The plant intends to reach design capacity by the end of this year, he said.

Lithum has completely restarted the plant, including coating production lines, storage facilities for raw materials and finished product and its lab. Company employees who were on forced leave are back at work, the press service said.

Lithum Group took over the Russian businesses of coating companies Jotun (plant in Leningrad Region), Hempel (Ulyanovsk Region) and PPG (plants in Lipetsk Region and Kolomna). The group's assortment includes paints, varnishes and powder coatings for various sectors of industry, including shipbuilding, and the oil and gas, chemicals, machine-building and automotive industries, as well as coatings for steel coil.

Hempel, which began producing paints in Ulyanovsk in 2016, announced the suspension of operation in Russia in the spring of 2022. The Ulyanovsk plant, which had capacity to produce about 16 million liters of paint per year, was shut down.

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